Abstract
Studies indicate the heritable nature of affective temperament, which shows personality traits predisposing to the development of mental disorders. Dopaminergic gene polymorphisms such as DRD4, COMTVal158Met, and DAT1 have been linked to affective disorders in obesity. Due to possible correlation between the aforementioned polymorphisms and the affective temperament, the aim of our research was to investigate this connection in an obese population. The study enrolled 245 obese patients (178 females; 67 males). The affective temperament was assessed using the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego autoquestionnaire (TEMPS-A). Genetic polymorphisms of DAT1, COMTVal158Met and DRD4 were collected from peripheral blood sample and determined using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Only in COMT polymorphisms, the cyclothymic and irritable dimensions were significantly associated with Met/Val carriers (p = 0.04; p = 0.01). Another interesting finding was the correlation between the affective temperament and age in men and women. We assume that dopamine transmission in heterozygotes of COMT may determine the role of the affective temperament in obese persons. Dopaminergic transmission modulated by COMT may be responsible for a greater temperament expression in obese individuals. To our knowledge, this is the first study describing the role of affective temperament in the obese population, but more research is needed in this regard.
Highlights
Previous research devoted to eating disorders, mainly related to anorexia and bulimia, indicated the possibility of specific personality traits related to both the predisposition to the disease and those affecting the course and clinical picture of the disease [1]
Previous research indicated that the symptoms of eating disorders are common and that patients with bipolar disorder are more obese than the control group [3,4,5]
Research on a neurobiological basis of affective temperament could convey essential details of how dopaminergic gene polymorphisms add to the pathogenesis of mood disorders in the obese population; it may, in particular, explain that changes in dopamine transmission may be a causative and a common factor in the development of obesity, as well as of affective diseases [30,31,32]
Summary
Previous research devoted to eating disorders, mainly related to anorexia and bulimia, indicated the possibility of specific personality traits related to both the predisposition to the disease and those affecting the course and clinical picture of the disease [1]. Recent psychiatric studies suggest that there is a link between obesity and mood disorders. Previous research indicated that the symptoms of eating disorders are common and that patients with bipolar disorder are more obese than the control group [3,4,5]. The results indicate that the symptoms of eating disorders are common and that patients with bipolar disorder are more obese than the control group [6,7]. Dopamine might be a factor linking obesity with mood disorders, especially given that maladaptive changes in dopaminergic transmission have been observed in obesity and [9,10,11]
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