Polymorphisms of the serotonin transporter gene and their relation to premature ejaculation in individuals from Iran.

PURPOSE This study tested whether individuals with at least 1 copy of the short (S) or long (L)(G) allele of the serotonin transporter gene-linked polymorphic region exhibit a greater incidence of premature ejaculation compared with L(A)L(A) individuals. MATERIALS AND METHODS The serotonin transporter gene-linked polymorphic region was genotyped in 82 men with lifelong premature ejaculation and 82 age matched healthy controls. With respect to the serotonin transporter gene-linked polymorphic region we analyzed the data under the 3 models of 1) dominant S model (S/S + S/L(A) + S/L(G) + L(G)/L(G) + L(A)/L(G) vs L(A)/L(A)), 2) dominant L model (L(A)/L(A) + L(A)/L(G) + S/L(A) vs S/S + S/L(G) + L(G)/L(G)) and 3) genotype model (S/S + L(G)/L(G) + S/L(G) vs S/L(A) + L(A)/L(G) vs L(A)/L(A)). RESULTS The prevalence of the serotonin transporter gene-linked polymorphic region S/S genotype in patients with premature ejaculation was significantly higher than in the control group (p = 0.001). A significantly higher S allele frequency of the serotonin transporter gene-linked polymorphic region was noted in patients with premature ejaculation compared with that in controls (p = 0.001). In the patients with premature ejaculation the S allele frequency was 70.7% compared with 57.3% in the control group (p = 0.001). Individuals with at least 1 copy of the S allele at the serotonin transporter gene-linked polymorphic region experienced more premature ejaculation compared to those who were L(A) homozygotes (p = 0.001). The prevalence of the dominant S model and genotype model in patients with premature ejaculation was higher than in normal subjects (78% vs 65%, p = 0.02 and 51% vs 27%, p = 0.01). However, the differences were not statistically significant after applying the Bonferroni correction. CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicate that men who carry the serotonin transporter gene-linked polymorphic region S/S, L(G)/L(G) or S/L(G) genotype have increased odds of premature ejaculation. Further investigation in this interesting field is necessary.