(1) Background: Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is associated with poor medical, psychological, and psychosocial outcomes and approximately 60% of individuals with AUD relapse six months after treatment. Craving is a core aspect of AUD and associated with high risk of relapse. One promising avenue to improve outcomes may be in understanding the relationship between COMT genotype, craving, and treatment outcomes. (2) Methods: To this end, we assessed craving, recent drinking history, and impulsivity in 70 individuals with AUD undergoing a standard course of treatment at a regional Veteran Affairs (VA) medical center. Saliva samples were collected to determine COMT genotype. In this prospective observational study, participants were followed for six months to determine who went on to relapse after treatment. (3) Results: Results revealed a significant interaction between craving and catechol-O-methyltransferse (COMT) genotype in predicting relapse. Post hoc exploratory analyses indicated that Met/Met homozygotes reported the highest levels of craving, and craving was associated with recent drinking history. Among Val/Val homozygotes, who had higher rates of relapse, craving was associated with impulsivity. (4) Conclusions: These associations highlight that specific profiles of psychological and biological factors may be important in understanding which individuals are at highest risk of relapse following treatment. Future studies that build on these findings are warranted.

中文翻译：

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渴望维度与 COMT 基因型相互作用可预测酒精使用障碍患者治疗六个月后的复发


(1) 背景：酒精使用障碍 (AUD) 与不良的医疗、心理和社会心理结果相关，大约 60% 的 AUD 患者在治疗六个月后复发。渴望是 AUD 的一个核心方面，与高复发风险相关。改善结果的一种有希望的途径可能是了解COMT基因型、渴望和治疗结果之间的关系。 (2) 方法：为此，我们评估了 70 名在地区退伍军人事务部 (VA) 医疗中心接受标准治疗的 AUD 患者的渴望、近期饮酒史和冲动。收集唾液样本以确定COMT基因型。在这项前瞻性观察研究中，对参与者进行了六个月的跟踪以确定谁在治疗后复发。 (3) 结果：结果揭示了渴望与儿茶酚-O-甲基转移酶（ COMT ）基因型之间在预测复发方面存在显着的相互作用。事后探索性分析表明，Met/Met 纯合子报告的渴望水平最高，而渴望与近期饮酒史有关。在复发率较高的 Val/Val 纯合子中，渴望与冲动有关。 (4) 结论：这些关联强调了心理和生物因素的具体概况对于了解哪些个体在治疗后复发风险最高可能很重要。基于这些发现的未来研究是有必要的。