Introduction: Initial reactions to cigarettes predict later regular smoking. Symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have also been shown to increase smoking risk and may moderate the relationship between genotype and smoking. We conducted an exploratory study to assess whether ADHD symptoms interact with genetic variation to predict self-reported initial reactions to smoking.
Methods: Participants were a subsample of 1,900 unrelated individuals with genotype data drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a nationally representative sample of adolescents followed from 1995 to 2002. Linear regression was used to examine relationships among self-reported ADHD symptoms, genotype, and self-reported initial reactions to cigarettes (index scores reflecting pleasant and unpleasant reactions).
Results: Polymorphisms in the DRD2 gene, SLC6A4 gene, and among males, the MAOA gene interacted with retrospective reports of ADHD symptoms in predicting pleasant initial reaction to cigarettes. Polymorphisms in the CYP2A6 gene and, among females, the MAOA gene interacted with retrospective reports of ADHD symptoms in predicting unpleasant initial reaction to cigarettes. No main effect for any of these polymorphisms was observed nor were any interactions with DRD4 and DAT genes.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that genotypes associated with monoamine neurotransmission interact with ADHD symptoms to influence initial reactions to cigarette smoking. Given that an initial pleasant reaction to cigarettes increases risk for lifetime smoking, these results add to a growing body of literature that suggests that ADHD symptoms increase risk for smoking and should be accounted for in genetic studies of smoking.