196G/A of the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Gene Polymorphisms Predicts Suicidal Behavior in Schizophrenia Patients

OBJECTIVE: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has possible neurobiologic impact on etiology of schizophrenia. We hypothesized that the specific allele or the genotype such as two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) , 196G/A (rs6265), 11757G/C(rs16917204) is associated with schizophrenia or its clinical features. METHODS: 241 normal controls and 157 schizophrenia patients are included. The differences in allele or genotype distribution for the patients and normal controls were analyzed. We also analyzed clinical variables among patients. RESULTS: We found no significant difference in genotype or allele distributions of two studied SNPs between the patient group and the control group. However, history of suicide attempt was relatively higher in patients with genotype with A allele, compared to patients with genotype G/G for 196G/A (p-value=0.045). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that it is possible to use BDNF gene allele and genotype as a predictor for suicide attempt in schizophrenia patients. It can help manage the schizophrenia patients regarding suicidal behavior and furthermore, mortality.