Association analysis of the dopaminergic receptor 2 gene Tag1Brs1079597 and personality traits among a cohort of professionalathletes

Research into sports participation has increasingly pointed to inherent biological mechanisms as influential factors alongside psychosocial and environmental elements. The dopaminergic D2 receptor is a strong candidate gene for physical activity behaviour, given its role in locomotor control and reward mechanisms. Hence, this study aimed to analyse the association of the <i>DRD2</i> gene <i>Tag1B</i> rs1079597 polymorphism with personality traits in elite athletes. The study group consisted of 395 volunteers. Of these, 163 were professional athletes (22.56 ± 5.9; M = 114, F = 49), and 232 were controls (22.07 ± 4.3; M = 150, F = 82). The MINI-International Neuropsychiatric Interview and the NEO Five-Factor Inventory were administered in both groups. Genotyping was performed using the real-time PCR method. Statistical analysis was performed: genotypes and alleles frequencies were compared using the chi-square test and the relations between <i>DRD2 Tag1B</i> rs1079597 variants, professional athletes and control participants and the NEO Five-Factor Inventory were analysed with the factorial ANOVA. Statistically significant differences were found in the frequency of <i>DRD2 Tag1B</i> rs1079597 genotypes and alleles in the group of professional athletes group compared to the control group. The GG genotype and G allele were significantly more frequent in the group of professional athletes (G/G 0.79 vs G/G 0.66; A/A 0.04 vs A/A 0.03; A/G 0.17 vs A/G 0.31, <i>p = 0.0056</i>; G 0.87 vs. G 0.81; A 0.13 vs. A 0.19, <i>p</i> = 0.0281) compared to the control group. The professional athletes' participants, compared to the controls, obtained significantly higher scores in the assessment of NEO-FFI Extraversion (<i>p</i> = 0.0369) and Conscientiousness (p < 0.0001) scales. Additionally, there was a statistically significant effect of DRD2 rs1079597 genotype association with being a professional athlete on the Openness scale (F_2.3389 = 3.07; <i>p</i> = 0.0475; η² = 0.015) and on the Conscientiousness scale (F_2.3389 = 3.23; <i>p</i> = 0.0406; η² = 0.016). This study highlights the significant associations between the <i>DRD2 Taq1B</i> polymorphic site and personality traits in a group of professional athletes. It also demonstrates the association of <i>Taq1B</i> polymorphism and professional sportsmanship with personality traits measured by NEO-FFI. The results suggest that genetic factors and professional sportsmanship both shape an athlete's personality traits.