OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to investigate the association between Ser311/Cys311 polymorphism in the dopamine D2 receptor gene and bipolar disorder in korean population. METHOD: Ser311/Cys311 polymorphism in the dopamine D2 receptor gene was typed with PCR in 86 bipolar disorders and 100 normal controls. RESULTS: Genotype of Ser/Ser, Ser/Cys, Cys/Cys were 82 (95.3%), 4 (4.7%), 0 (0.0%) respectively in the bipolar disorders, 96 (96.0%), 4 (4.0%), 0 (0.0%) respectively in the controls. Allele frequencies of Ser and Cys were 168 (97.7%), 4 (2.3%) in the bipolar disorders, 196 (98.0%), 4 (2.0%) in the controls. There were no differencies in genotype distribution and allele frequencies of dopamine D2 receptor gene polymorphism Ser311/Cys311 between in the bipolar disorders and in the controls. CONCLUSION: These result suggests dopamine D2 receptor gene polymorphism Ser311/Cys311 is not causally related to the development of bipolar disorder in korean population.
Bipolar Disorder* ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Receptors, Dopamine D2

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of body dissatisfaction on Smartphone addiction and to determine the relative magnitudes of specific mediation effect of personality characteristics.METHODS: One hundred and fifteen young and healthy participants completed the Smartphone Addiction Scale, Body Dysmorphic Disorder Examination-Self Report, and NEO Five-Factor Inventory. By using Indirect SPSS macros, multiple-mediation analyses were performed.RESULTS: Body dissatisfaction had a significant total, direct and indirect effect on Smartphone addiction. Indirect effect of Body dissatisfaction on Smartphone addiction was significantly mediated via personality characteristics (Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, and Openness).CONCLUSION: These results suggest the importance of evaluating both patients' personality characteristics and body dissatisfaction for managing Smartphone addiction. Consequently, they will be useful in the prevention and treatment of Smartphone addiction.
Body Dysmorphic Disorders ; Healthy Volunteers ; Negotiating ; Smartphone

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to investigate the association between 5-HT 2A receptor gene promoter -1438A/G polymorphism and bipolar disorder in a Korean population. METHOD: 5-HT2A receptor gene promoter -1438A/G polymorphism were typed with Polymerase Chain Reaction in 120 patients with bipolar disorder and 120 normal controls. RESULT: The distributions of the genotype in the bipolar disorder with A/A, A/G, G/G were 14 (12%), 66(55%), 40(33%), and in the controls were 30(25%), 59(49%), and 31(26%). The allele frequencies of the bipolar disorders with A and G were 94(39.2%), 146(60.8%), and in the controls were 119(49.6), and 121(50.4), respectively. There were significant differences in genotype distributions and allele frequencies of -1438A/G between patients with bipolar disorder and normal controls. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that 5-HT2A receptor gene promoter -1438A/G polymorphism may be related to the development of bipolar disorder in a Korean population.
Bipolar Disorder* ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2A* ; Serotonin

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to investigate the association between 5-HT 2A receptor gene promoter -1438A/G polymorphism and schizophrenia in a Korean population. METHOD: 5-HT 2A receptor gene promoter -1438A/G polymorphism was typed with Polymerase Chain Reaction in 132 patients with schizophrenia and 138 healthy normal controls. RESULT: There was no difference in allelic frequency of -1438A/G polymorphism between patients with schizophrenia and controls(K 2=2.261, df=1, p=0.133). A difference was found in genotype distribution(K 2=6.157, df=2, p=0.046), but this difference was being given by the increased A/A in th controls and A/G in the patients. The genotype frequency, which is the sum of homozygosity and heterozygosity for the -1438 G allele, was significantly higher in the patients(K 2=5.880, df=1, p=0.015). However, there was no difference between the patients with schizophrenia and conrols in the frequency of homozygosity for the -1438 G allele. CONCLULSION: These results suggest that -1438A/G polymorphism of the 5-HT 2A receptor gene promoter is not causally related to the development of schizophrenia in a Korean population.
Alleles ; Genotype ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Schizophrenia* ; Serotonin*

A new structural polymorphism(Ser311 -> Cys311) in the dopamine D, receptor gene has been reported to be associated with schizophrenia, particularly in patients with a positive family history of schizophrenia. However these findings remain contorversial. Thus the authors investigated polymorphism of the dopamine D2 receptor gene(Ser311 -> Cys311) in a total of 136 Korean schizophrenic patients and 115 controls. Allele frequencies of Ser311 and Cys311 were determined by polymerase chain reaction(FCR) amplification of specific alleles according to Arinami and colleagues' method. The allele frequency of Cys311 in schizophrenic patients and controls was 0.011 and 0.017, respectively. There were no significant differencies in the allele frequency of Cys311 between schizophrenic patients and controls(x2=0.542, df=1, p>0.05). Neither schizophrenic patients nor controls were homozygous for Cys311. The authors findings contrasted with those of Arinami(1994), but were in line with results of previous studies(Asherson 1994 ; Laurent 1994 ; Nanko 1994b ; Nothen 1994: Sheikh 1994), which did not show evidence of association between schizophrenia and dopamine D2, receptor polymorphism(Ser311 -> Cys311).
Alleles ; Dopamine* ; Gene Frequency ; Humans ; Receptors, Dopamine D2* ; Schizophrenia

OBJECTIVE: The purposes of this study were to develop a Korean version of the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Examination-Self Report (BDDE-SR)and to get informations about the body dissatisfaction of the Korean adolescents. METHOD: A Korean version of the BDDE-SR was applied to 417 Korean high school adolescents. Retest was conducted with 6-week interval in 100 adolescents. RESULTS: 1)Test-retest reliability of the total scores (Pearson's correlation coefficiency) was 0.883 (p<0.001)and test-retest reliabilities of each item also showed high correlation (Spearman's correlation coefficency range: 0.159-0.761) 2) Internal consistency by Cronbach's alpha of 0.922 (p<0.001)was very much high. 3) Five factors were extracted by factor analysis with the Varimax rotation. They were 'the distressing and embarrassment factor', 'the self-consciousness and negative self-evaluation factor', 'the avoidance factor', 'the camouflage factor', and 'the comparison factor'. 4)The total score of BDDE-SR of girls was statistically higher (52.4+/-24.8) than that of boys (37.7+/-20.6) The most dissatisfied body part was abdomen(6.8%) nose(6.4%) entire leg(6.0%) teeth (5.9%)and eyes(5.9%)in all the subjects. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that a Korean version of the BDDE-SR is a reliable instrument for the assessment of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) The authors suggest that future researches should be directed to obtaining clinical data of the patients with BDD and should test the validity of a Korean version of the BDDE-SR.
Adolescent ; Body Dysmorphic Disorders ; Diagnostic Self Evaluation ; Female ; Humans ; Tooth

OBJECTIVE: Catechol-O-methyltransferase(COMT) is an important enzyme that inactivates biologically active or toxic catechols. Abnormal catecholamine transmission has been implicated in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Polymorphism(Val/Met) of the COMT gene was shown to determine high-and low-activity alleles of the enzyme. This study was designed to investigate the association between COMT gene polymorphism and schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in a Korean population. METHOD: COMT gene were genotyped with polymerase chain reaction and restriction enzyme NlaIII in 128 patients with schizophrenia, 110 with bipolar disorder, and 176 controls. RESULTS: 1) The distribution of the COMT genotype in schizophrenic patients with Val/Val, Val/Met, Met/Met were 76(59.4%), 43(33.6%), 9(7.0%), in bipolar disorder patients were 63(57.3%), 35(31.8%), 12(10.9%), and in the controls were 83(47.2%), 79(44.9%), 14(8.0%). The allele frequencies of the COMT gene in schizophrenic patients with Val and Met were 195(76.2%), 61(23.8%), in bipolar disoreder patients were 161(73.2%), 59(26.8%), and in the controls were 245(69.6%), 107(30.4%). 2) There were no differences in genotype distribution and allele frequencies of COMT gene polymorphism among the 3 groups. Neither patients with schizophrenia nor bipolar disorder differed in the genotype and allelic frequencies from the controls. CONCLUSION: These results suggest COMT gene polymorphism is not causally related to the development of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in a Korean Population.
Alleles ; Bipolar Disorder* ; Catechol O-Methyltransferase* ; Catechols ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Schizophrenia*

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of psychopathology on the quality of life in dermatological outpatients.METHODS: A sample of 151 female dermatological outpatients was compared with a control group of 200 females. Symptom Check List-90-R(SCL-90-R) was used to screen for psychopathology and Skindex-29 for quality of life. We compared the scores of SCL-90-R and Skindex-29 between the two groups and examined the correlation between SCL-90-R and Skindex-29 in the patient group. We analysed the subscales of SCL-90-R that affect Skindex-29.RESULTS: There was statistically significant higher in the score of SCL-90-R in patient group than control group. In high score group of Skindex-29, the score of SCL-90-R was significantly higher than in low score group of Skindex-29. The correlation between SCL-90-R and Skindex-29 was positively correlated with moderate relationship on all subscales except paranoid ideation. Somatization and psychoticism of SCL-90-R were the factors affecting on the total score of Skindex-29.CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that psychological distress of the dermatological outpatients is more severe than control group, and somatization and psychoticism are suggested as predictors of the quality of life of dermatologic patients.
Female ; Humans ; Outpatients ; Psychopathology ; Quality of Life

OBJECTIVE: Many studies suggest an association between the serotonin transporter gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) and anxiety-related personality traits (e.g., neuroticism) in healthy subjects. This study investigated the interaction of 5-HTTLPR genotype on body dissatisfaction by neuroticism and to evaluate the interaction of 5-HTTLPR genotype on self-esteem by body dissatisfaction in a young adult Korean population. METHODS: Two hundred and eighty three subjects were included in this study. The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Korean version was used to evaluate neuroticism, the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Examination-Self Report (BDDE-SR)-Korean version was used to evaluate body dissatisfaction, and the Self-Esteem Scale (SES)-Korean version was used to evaluate self-esteem. The 5-HTTLPR genotype by neuroticism (high : low) interaction was assessed according to the total BDDE-SR score, and 5-HTTLPR genotype by BDDE-SR (high : low) interaction was assessed according to the total SES score. RESULTS: The analysis of 5-HTTLPR genotype and neuroticism (high : low) with respect to body dissatisfaction showed no main effects of genotype whereas neuroticism did influence the BDDE-SR score and no interaction of the genotype with neuroticism. The analysis of 5-HTTLPR genotype and BDDE-SR (high : low) with respect to self-esteem score showed no main effects of genotype whereas BDDE-SR did influence the self-esteem score and no interaction of the genotype with body dissatisfaction. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that an interaction between 5-HTTPLR genotype and neuroticism does not affect body dissatisfaction and an interaction between 5-HTTPLR genotype and body dissatisfaction does not affect self-esteem in a young adult Korean population.
Body Dysmorphic Disorders ; Genotype* ; Humans ; Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins ; Young Adult*

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to investigate the association between the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) genetic polymorphism [TaqIB (rs17294542) and TaqID (rs1800498)] and patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: TaqIB (rs17294542) and TaqID (rs1800498) polymorphism of the DRD2 gene were typed in 100 patients with schizophrenia and 109 normal controls. RESULTS: There were no statistical differences in genotype and allele distribution of TaqIB (rs17294542) and TaqID (rs1800498) genetic polymorphism between patients with schizophrenia and normal controls. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the TaqIB (rs17294542) and TaqID (rs1800498) polymorphisms of the DRD2 gene may not be associated with schizophrenia in the Korean population.
Alleles ; Genotype ; Humans ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Receptors, Dopamine D2 ; Schizophrenia