Analysis did not show any statistically significant differences in the mean levels of anxiety, and mood disorders in women in relation to genotypes of the 5-HTTLPR (SLC6A4) polymorphism and the 30-bp VNTR polymorphism in the MAO A promoter region.
We analyzed 62 genotyped variants within the selected genes (BDNF, NTRK2, SLC6A4, TPH2, P2RX7, DAOA, COMT, DISC1, and MAOA) against the presence of mood disorder, and in post-hoc analyses, specifically against bipolar disorder or major depressive disorder.
These data suggest that the MAOA T941G polymorphism, which has been previously linked with mood disorders, is associated with a maladaptive pattern of affective responding in women.
Moreover, our systematic meta-analysis has revealed that although MAOA may be a common candidate gene for mood disorders, different polymorphisms and alleles appear to play different roles in major depressive disorder and BPD.