Association between suicide attempts and 5-HTTLPR-S-Allele in alcohol-dependent and control subjects: further evidence from a german alcohol-dependent inpatient sample

Background: Genetically-mediated alterations in serotonergic transmission have been implicated in both the pathogenesis of alcoholism and suicidal behavior. Thus, the identification of vulnerability genes could uncover pathophysiological links for both syndromes. A significant association between suicide attempts and the 5-HTT promoter polymorphisms (5-HTTLPR) S-allele has been reported in a sample of French alcohol-dependent subjects, and this paper evaluates this phenomenon in a German sample.