Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry

Objectives：There have been many association studies of panic disorder. However, studies about the do-paminergic function in panic disorder have been few. This study was aimed to examine the possible as-sociation of dopamine transporter gene(DAT1) polymorphism and panic disorder in Korean population.

Methods：Ninety-eight patients with panic disorder(43 male(46.9%), mean age 42.13±10.88 years) and one hundred and thirteen comparison subjects(67 male(40.7%), mean age 33.14±8.55 years) were tested for DAT1 polymorphism. Genotypes of DAT1 with variable number of tandem repeats(VNTR) were determined using polymerase chain reaction. The differences of allelic frequency and genotype frequency distribution between patient and the control group were tested with Fisher-Freeman-Halton test.

Results：There was association between DAT1 polymorphism and panic disorder(allele：p<0.03, genotype：p<0.05). The frequency of 10/10 homozygotes of DAT1 was significantly higher in control group(χ²=4.452, df=1, p=0.035).

Conclusion：These results in our Korean samples suggest that DAT1 polymorphism might be associated with the vulnerability of panic disorder. Possible association of dopaminergic genes and panic disorder should be investigated with future studies using larger and different population.

Keywords Panic disorder;Dopamine transporter gene;Polymorphism.