Early‐Life Adversity and Blunted Stress Reactivity as Predictors of Alcohol and Drug use in Persons With COMT (rs4680) Val158Met Genotypes
WR Lovallo, AJ Cohoon, KH Sorocco…�- Alcoholism: Clinical�…, 2019 - Wiley Online Library
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 2019•Wiley Online Library
Background Risk for alcoholism may be enhanced by exposure to early‐life adversity (ELA)
in persons with genetic vulnerabilities. We examined ELA in the presence of a common
variant of the gene for the enzyme catechol‐O‐methyltransferase (COMT, Val158Met,
rs4680) in relation to cortisol reactivity, the onset of early drinking, and experimentation with
drugs. Methods Saliva cortisol reactivity to speech and mental arithmetic stress was
measured in 480 healthy young adults (23.5 years of age, 50% females) who experienced�…
in persons with genetic vulnerabilities. We examined ELA in the presence of a common
variant of the gene for the enzyme catechol‐O‐methyltransferase (COMT, Val158Met,
rs4680) in relation to cortisol reactivity, the onset of early drinking, and experimentation with
drugs. Methods Saliva cortisol reactivity to speech and mental arithmetic stress was
measured in 480 healthy young adults (23.5 years of age, 50% females) who experienced�…
Background
Risk for alcoholism may be enhanced by exposure to early‐life adversity (ELA) in persons with genetic vulnerabilities. We examined ELA in the presence of a common variant of the gene for the enzyme catechol‐O‐methyltransferase (COMT, Val158Met, rs4680) in relation to cortisol reactivity, the onset of early drinking, and experimentation with drugs.
Methods
Saliva cortisol reactivity to speech and mental arithmetic stress was measured in 480 healthy young adults (23.5�years of age, 50% females) who experienced either 0, 1, or�≥�2 forms of ELA during childhood and adolescence, provided information on use of alcohol and recreational drugs, and were genotyped for the Val158Met polymorphism.
Results
ELA led to progressively smaller cortisol responses in the Met/Met and Val/Met allele groups but to progressively larger responses in Val homozygotes, F�=�3.29, p�=�0.011. ELA independently predicted earlier age at first drink, F�=�14.2, p�<�0.0001, with a larger effect in Met‐allele carriers, F�=�13.95, p�<�0.00001, and a smaller effect in Val homozygotes, F�=�4.14, p�=�0.02. Similar effects were seen in recreational drug use. Cortisol reactivity was unrelated to drinking behavior or drug experimentation.
Conclusions
ELA leads to blunted stress reactivity and, independently, contributes to potentially risky drinking and drug‐use behaviors in persons carrying 1 or 2 copies of the COMT 158Met allele. The results reinforce the impact of early experience on the stress axis and on risky behaviors, and they point to the 158Met allele as conveying a vulnerability to the early environment.
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