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Relationship between COMT Gene Polymorphism, Anxiety, and Pain Perception during Labour

Background: The COMT gene polymorphism is associated with neurological and psychiatric disorders and pain perception. The present study investigates the existence of anxiety and pain perception in relation to the COMT (catechol-O-methyltransferase) gene polymorphism in labouring women (during “natur...

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Autores principales: Šanjug, Jadranka, Kuna, Krunoslav, Goldštajn, Marina Šprem, Dunkić, Lidija Fumić, Carek, Andreja, Negovetić Vranić, Dubravka
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10573766/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37834942
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jcm12196298
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author Šanjug, Jadranka
Kuna, Krunoslav
Goldštajn, Marina Šprem
Dunkić, Lidija Fumić
Carek, Andreja
Negovetić Vranić, Dubravka
author_facet Šanjug, Jadranka
Kuna, Krunoslav
Goldštajn, Marina Šprem
Dunkić, Lidija Fumić
Carek, Andreja
Negovetić Vranić, Dubravka
author_sort Šanjug, Jadranka
collection PubMed
description Background: The COMT gene polymorphism is associated with neurological and psychiatric disorders and pain perception. The present study investigates the existence of anxiety and pain perception in relation to the COMT (catechol-O-methyltransferase) gene polymorphism in labouring women (during “natural” childbirth) with or without inhaled analgesia. Methods: A total of 181 women who chose vaginal birth were enrolled in this study. To present the difference in pain perception, the parturients were divided into one group (n = 90) that chose labour analgesia with inhaled nitrous oxide (50% nitrous oxide and 50% oxygen) and one group (n = 91) without analgesia. The blood samples were taken during the pregnancy as a part of routine pregnancy controls in the hospital. The COMT gene polymorphism was detected with the PCR technique. The pain perception of parturients was self-evaluated two times according to the VAS (Visual Analogue Scale), and anxiety as a personality trait was determined with the STAI-T (State Trait Anxiety Inventory). Pain perception as well as anxiety were compared according to COMT genotypes. Results: In the 181 pregnant women, there were 40 women (22%) of wild homozygotes (GG) of COMT, 95 women (53%) of mutant heterozygotes (GA), and 46 women (25%) of mutant homozygotes (AA). A negative association of pain perception with the GA (mutant heterozygote) polymorphism of the COMT gene versus the wild-type (GG polymorphism) was observed. The GA polymorphism of the COMT gene was associated with 0.46 units lower pain perception compared to the wild type (GG). The anxiety trait score in group AA was lower than in groups GA and GG. The difference reached statistical significance only when comparing AA versus GA (p > 0.042). Analgesic efficacy of nitrous oxide was noticed in 22% of labouring women who reported moderate pain (VAS score 4–7). Conclusions: The COMT gene polymorphism was associated with pain perception and anxiety among parturients. The COMT gene polymorphism GA was associated with negative pain perception among labouring women. Nitrous oxide showed statistical significance in anxiolytic efficacy during labour in women with mild anxiety as a personality trait. Anxiolytic efficacy of nitrous oxide has shown better efficacy in parturients with the COMT gene polymorphism AA.
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spelling pubmed-105737662023-10-14 Relationship between COMT Gene Polymorphism, Anxiety, and Pain Perception during Labour Šanjug, Jadranka Kuna, Krunoslav Goldštajn, Marina Šprem Dunkić, Lidija Fumić Carek, Andreja Negovetić Vranić, Dubravka J Clin Med Article Background: The COMT gene polymorphism is associated with neurological and psychiatric disorders and pain perception. The present study investigates the existence of anxiety and pain perception in relation to the COMT (catechol-O-methyltransferase) gene polymorphism in labouring women (during “natural” childbirth) with or without inhaled analgesia. Methods: A total of 181 women who chose vaginal birth were enrolled in this study. To present the difference in pain perception, the parturients were divided into one group (n = 90) that chose labour analgesia with inhaled nitrous oxide (50% nitrous oxide and 50% oxygen) and one group (n = 91) without analgesia. The blood samples were taken during the pregnancy as a part of routine pregnancy controls in the hospital. The COMT gene polymorphism was detected with the PCR technique. The pain perception of parturients was self-evaluated two times according to the VAS (Visual Analogue Scale), and anxiety as a personality trait was determined with the STAI-T (State Trait Anxiety Inventory). Pain perception as well as anxiety were compared according to COMT genotypes. Results: In the 181 pregnant women, there were 40 women (22%) of wild homozygotes (GG) of COMT, 95 women (53%) of mutant heterozygotes (GA), and 46 women (25%) of mutant homozygotes (AA). A negative association of pain perception with the GA (mutant heterozygote) polymorphism of the COMT gene versus the wild-type (GG polymorphism) was observed. The GA polymorphism of the COMT gene was associated with 0.46 units lower pain perception compared to the wild type (GG). The anxiety trait score in group AA was lower than in groups GA and GG. The difference reached statistical significance only when comparing AA versus GA (p > 0.042). Analgesic efficacy of nitrous oxide was noticed in 22% of labouring women who reported moderate pain (VAS score 4–7). Conclusions: The COMT gene polymorphism was associated with pain perception and anxiety among parturients. The COMT gene polymorphism GA was associated with negative pain perception among labouring women. Nitrous oxide showed statistical significance in anxiolytic efficacy during labour in women with mild anxiety as a personality trait. Anxiolytic efficacy of nitrous oxide has shown better efficacy in parturients with the COMT gene polymorphism AA. MDPI 2023-09-29 /pmc/articles/PMC10573766/ /pubmed/37834942 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jcm12196298 Text en © 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Šanjug, Jadranka
Kuna, Krunoslav
Goldštajn, Marina Šprem
Dunkić, Lidija Fumić
Carek, Andreja
Negovetić Vranić, Dubravka
Relationship between COMT Gene Polymorphism, Anxiety, and Pain Perception during Labour
title Relationship between COMT Gene Polymorphism, Anxiety, and Pain Perception during Labour
title_full Relationship between COMT Gene Polymorphism, Anxiety, and Pain Perception during Labour
title_fullStr Relationship between COMT Gene Polymorphism, Anxiety, and Pain Perception during Labour
title_full_unstemmed Relationship between COMT Gene Polymorphism, Anxiety, and Pain Perception during Labour
title_short Relationship between COMT Gene Polymorphism, Anxiety, and Pain Perception during Labour
title_sort relationship between comt gene polymorphism, anxiety, and pain perception during labour
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10573766/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37834942
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jcm12196298
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