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<em class="a-plus-plus">Transcription Factor Activating Protein-2β</em> (<em class="a-plus-plus">TFAP-2β</em>) genotype and symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in relation to symptoms of depression in two independent samples

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European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Published online on

Abstract

The Transcription Factor Activating Protein- (TFAP-) gene has been shown to influence monoaminergic neurotransmission, and several genes important for monoaminergic function have binding sites for TFAP-2β. Familial studies of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) suggest a hereditary-determined subtype of ADHD with comorbid depression. We examined a functional variation of the TFAP- gene in the context of co-occurring symptoms of ADHD and depression in two independent population-based samples of adolescents (Group A, n = 175 and Group B, n = 1,506) from Sweden. Results indicated 6.1 to 7.8 % of adolescents screened positively for ADHD and depression symptoms. Symptoms of depression were more common among girls who screened positively for ADHD and did not carry the nine-repeat allele of the TFAP- intron 1 Variable Number Tandem Repeat (VNTR) polymorphism. The presence of the nine-repeat variant of the TFAP- intron 1 VNTR appears to protect girls with ADHD symptoms from the co-expression of symptoms of depression.