Age at Onset of Psychotic Disorder: Cannabis, BDNF Val66Met, and Sex-Specific Models of Gene-Environment Interaction

Jeroen Decoster, Jim van Os, Gunter Kenis, Charles Henquet, Joseph Peuskens, Marc De Hert, Ruud van Winkel*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Discovering modifiable predictors for age at onset may help to identify predictors of transition to psychotic disorder in the "atrisk mental state." Inconsistent effects of sex, BDNF Val66Met (rs6265), and cannabis use on age of onset were previously reported. BDNF Val66Met and cannabis use before illness onset were retrospectively assessed in a sample of 585 patients with schizophrenia and their association with age at onset was evaluated. Cannabis use was significantly associated with earlier age at onset of psychotic disorder (AOP; average difference 2.7 years, P
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)363-369
JournalAmerican Journal of Medical Genetics Part B-neuropsychiatric Genetics
Volume156B
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2011

Keywords

  • schizophrenia
  • tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
  • neurotrophins
  • gender

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