Serotonin Transporter Gene Polymorphism in Chinese Patients With Poststroke Depression

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We sought to compare the distribution of the serotonin transporter gene SLC6A4 polymorphism between depressed and nondepressed poststroke patients. METHODS: Patients with cerebral stroke admitted to hospital during a 1-year period were enrolled in a 1:1 case-control study. All cases and controls were genotyped for polymorphism of the serotonin transporter-linked promoter region and the single-nucleotide polymorphism rs25531. RESULTS: Among 367 patients with cerebral stroke, 57 (15.5%) were diagnosed with poststroke depression at 1 month after stroke. In the patients with poststroke depression, 7 genotypes of the serotonin transporter gene SLC6A4 were detected, and the frequency of S/S homozygotes was significantly higher (P=0.049) than that in controls. CONCLUSIONS: S/S homozygosity may be positively associated with the occurrence of poststroke depression in Chinese patients.