The Association of BDNF Val66Met Polymorphism With Trait Anxiety in Panic Disorder

Recent studies indicate that early-onset panic disorder (PD) may show distinct clinical characteristics. The authors compared patients with early-onset PD, patients with late-onset PD, and healthy control subjects in terms of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), the Val66Met polymorphism, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) scores, and the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. In patients with early-onset PD, the STAI-T score was high in the Met/Met group, whereas the STAI-T score of the Val/Val group tended to be higher for healthy control subjects. The conflicting effect of the BDNF genotype between patients with early-onset PD and healthy control subjects suggests that the BDNF Met/Met genotype may increase trait anxiety in early-onset PD.