Association Of OXTR/AVPR Gene Polymorphisms With Violent Impulsiveness In High-risk Prison Inmates

BACKGROUDS: Aggression is a deliberate act of an individual to inflict harm on an organism and is influenced by biological factors such as genetic,hormonal,neuropsychiatric,and psychosocial factors such as culture,family,and socioeconomics.Also aggression is a key feature of many psychiatric and medical fundamentals and is closely related to impulsivity,childhood abuse,and increased impulsivity in abused individuals during childhood,which in turn influences the development of aggression.The association between the OXTR and AVPR1 a genes and aggression is still unclear.OBJECTIVE: To understand the relationship between childhood maltreatment,impulsivity and aggression,and to explore the interaction effects between the OXTR(Oxytocin Receptor)and AVPR1a(arginine vasopressin receptor 1A)genes and childhood maltreatment on impulsivity.METHODS: Male inmates in a prison in Nanjing were studied with a score of ≥4 on the Borderline Personality Disorder(BPD)scale(PDQ-4)or a score of ≥4 on the Antisocial Personality Disorder(APD)scale(PDQ-4).Antisocial Personality Disorder(ASPD)≥ 3,impulsivity score ≥ 62(i.e.,the top 27% of impulsivity scores among 1864 questionnaires),and the case of violent crimes,after excluding some invalid questionnaires,537 cases of high-risk inmates were screened with this screening criterion,and cluster analysis was conducted to divide them into high-risk impulsivity group(n=314)and personality disorder group(n=213).General demographic information,family situation and substance use and psychological related factors were collected from both groups by questionnaire.5 ml of peripheral venous blood was collected and DNA was extracted.rs1042615,rs10877968,rs16920581,rs2610025,rs3021528 and rs237897,s13316193,rs237889,rs2254298,rs2268494,rs1042778,rs53576 and rs6770632 of the OXTR gene were genotyped.The genotypes and allele frequencies of the two groups were compared to explore the relationship between AVPR1 a and OXTR gene polymorphisms and violent aggressive behavior and impulsivity in high-risk inmates,and the effect of the interaction between AVPR1 a and OXTR gene polymorphisms and childhood abuse on violent aggressive behavior and impulsivity.RESULTS: 1.Cluster analysis divided the high-risk inmates into violent offense group(n=341)and personality disorder group(n=213).There was no statistically significant difference between violent impulse group and personality disorder group in age,education level,marital status,household registration(urban or rural household),history of alcohol consumption and smoking(P >0.05),while history of drug use had a statistically significant difference between groups(χ2=20.811,P﹤0.001).2.There was a statistically significant difference in parenting style(χ2=15.904,P= 0.001)between the two groups.Also there was a statistically significant difference in parental relationship(divided into family harmony,average relationship,poor relationship and divorce)between the two groups(χ2=30.513,P﹤0.001).There was no statistically significant difference in the education level of parents between the two groups(P >0.05).3.There was a statistically significant difference in the scores of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire(GHQ-12)between the two groups(t=-2.291,P=0.022);there was a statistically significant difference in the scores of the 7-item Generalized Anxiety(t=-5.665,P﹤0.001);The 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire(PHQ-9)(t=-6.232,P﹤0.001);The 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder(GAD-7)(t=-5.665,P﹤0.001);The 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire(PHQ-9)(t=-6.232,P﹤0.001);the total score of Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11(BIS-11)(t=18.612,P﹤0.001)and the scores of each subscale(attentional impulsivity,t=-4.110,P﹤0.001;motor impulsivity,t=11.019,P <0.001;unplanned impulsivity,t=27.037,P﹤0.001)were statistically significantly different;the total scores of Childhood Trauma Questionnaire Short Form(CTQ-SF)(t=-7.747,P﹤0.001)and the scores of each subscale between the two groups(Emotional abuse,t=-7.499,P﹤0.001;physical abuse,t=-6.319,P﹤0.001;sexual abuse,t=-4.630,P﹤0.001;emotional neglect,t=-5.803,P﹤0.001;physical neglect,t=-5.509,P﹤0.001)had statistically significant differences.4.Attentional impulsivity was weakly correlated with both childhood abuse and subscales(P﹤0.01);unplanned impulsivity was very weakly correlated with emotional abuse,somatic abuse,sexual abuse and emotional neglect(P﹤0.05);total impulsivity score was very weakly correlated with emotional neglect(P﹤0.01).Emotional neglect entered the regression equation,and the final model explained about 5% of the BIS-11 scores.5.The violent offender group and the nonviolent offender group showed a high correlation between the CC genotype frequency(χ2= 6.068,P = 0.048)of AVPR1a-rs11174810,the GG genotype frequency(χ2= 8.811,P = 0.012)and the G allele frequency(χ2= 8.421,P = 0.004),CC genotype frequency(χ2= 7.315,P = 0.026)and C allele frequency(χ2= 5.198,P = 0.023)of OXTR-rs1316193,GG genotype frequency(χ2= 11.770,P = 0.003)and C allele of OXTR-rs237897 frequency(χ2= 10.608,P = 0.001),and rs237889 C allele frequency(χ2= 51.98,P = 0.023)were statistically significantly different.The two groups were not statistically significantly different in the genotypes of the remaining genes.6.the GG genotype of OXTR-rs53576 played a moderating role between,the interaction with physical abuse(R2 = 0.056,t = 2.376,P = 0.018),and sexual abuse(R2 = 0.065,t = 2.130,P = 0.034)on the attentional impulse scores of the BIS-11.the GG genotype of OXTR-rs237897 The interaction between genotype and somatic abuse(R2 =0.047,t=2.220,P= 0.027)moderated the attentional impulse scores of the BIS-11.CONCLUSIONS: 1 The impulsive violence group was more impulsive,while the personality disorder group had lower mental health level and deeper childhood abuse.Both groups were prone to adverse events during their sentences.2 Emotional abuse experiences in childhood abuse experiences have a positive predictive effect on impulsivity.3 The interaction between GG genotype and G allele of OXTR-rs53576 GG genotype and G allele of rs237897 and sexual abuse and physical abuse in childhood abuse has a significant impact on the attention impulsiveness of high-risk prisoners for violent crimes,the higher the level of sexual abuse and physical abuse,the higher the level of attention impulsiveness.