CYP2A6 gene polymorphism and personality traits for NEO-FFI on the smoking behavior of youths.

We performed a survey on the relationship between nicotine dependence and psychological (the personality traits using neuroticism extroversion openess-five factor inventory (NEO-FFI)/nicotine metabolism (the CYP2A6 gene polymorphism) factors among Japanese young students to elucidate the mechanism of the development of nicotine dependence. As a result, the frequency of the CYP2A6*4C gene (enzyme activity deficit) was significantly (p<0.05) higher among nonsmokers than smokers, and the Openness score by NEO-FFI was higher among smokers than nonsmokers. However, there were no significant differences in the Neuroticism, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness scores by NEO-FFI between smokers and nonsmokers. We conclude that the CYP2A6*4C gene and the Openness personality trait may affect the development of the smoking behavior of youth.