Association of the Calcyon Neuron-Specific Vesicular Protein Gene (CALY) With Adolescent Smoking Initiation in China and California

Authors

C. Anderson Johnson, Claremont Graduate UniversityFollow
Dalin Li, University of Southern California
Stephanie J. London, National Institutes of Health
Jinghua Liu, University of California, San Francisco
Wonho Lee, University of Southern California
Xuejuan Jiang, University of Southern California
David Van Den Berg, University of Southern California
Andrew W. Bergen, SRI International
Denise Nishita, SRI International
Nahid Waleh, SRI International
Gary E. Swan, Stanford University
Peggy E. Gallaher, University of Southern California
Chih-Ping Chou, University of Southern California
Jean C. Shih, University of Southern California
Jennifer B. Unger, University of Southern California
W. James Gauderman, University of Southern California
Frank D. Gilliland, University of Southern California
David V. Conti, University of Southern California

Document Type

Article

Department

Community and Global Health (CGU)

Publication Date

5-2011

Disciplines

Genetic Phenomena | Genetic Processes | Genetics | Mental and Social Health | Substance Abuse and Addiction

Abstract

Although previous investigations have indicated a role for genetic factors in smoking initiation, the underlying genetic mechanisms are still unknown. In 2,339 adolescents from a Chinese Han population in the Wuhan Smoking Prevention Trial (Wuhan, China, 1998–1999), the authors explored the association of 57 genes in the dopamine pathway with smoking initiation. Using a conservative approach for declaring significance, positive findings were further examined in an independent sample of 603 Caucasian adolescents followed for up to 10 years as part of the Children's Health Study (Southern California, 1993–2009). The authors identified 1 single nucleotide polymorphism (rs2298122) in the calcyon neuron-specific vesicular protein gene (CALY) that was positively associated with smoking initiation in females (odds ratio = 2.21, 95% confidence interval: 1.49, 3.27; P = 8.4 × 10⁻⁵) in the Wuhan Smoking Prevention Trial cohort, and they replicated the association in females from the Children's Health Study cohort (hazard rate ratio = 2.05, 95% confidence interval: 1.27, 3.31; P = 0.003). These results suggest that the CALY gene may influence smoking initiation in adolescents, although the potential roles of underlying psychological characteristics that may be components of the smoking-initiation phenotype, such as impulsivity or novelty-seeking, remain to be explored.

Rights Information

© 2011 Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

DOI

10.1093/aje/kwq471

Recommended Citation

Li, D., London, S.J., Liu, J., Lee, W., Jiang, X., Van Den Berg, D., Bergen, A.W., Nishita, D., Waleh, N., Swan, G.E., Gallaher, P., Chou, C-P., Shih, J.C., Unger, J.B., Gauderman, J., Gilliland, F., Johnson, C.A., & Conti, D.V. Association of the Calcyon Neuron-Specific Vesicular Protein Gene (CALY) with adolescent smoking initiation in China and California. Am J Epidemiol, 173(9), 1039-48, 2011.