Genetic-environmental axis of depression?

The next paper in our sprint for Mental Health Awareness Month comes from a group at the University of Otago, New Zealand, which looks at the relationship between environmental stresses and one’s genetics in the likelihood of developing depression.

This epidemiological longitudinal study set out to examine why some people are more likely than others to be develop depression after stressful life experiences.

It was found that a polymorphism in the gene for the promoter of the 5-HTT serotonin transporter, was correlated to the impact that stressful life events had on depression. The 5-HTT promoter gene has a long allele and a short allele, and individuals with one or more copies of the short allele were found to be more likely to show depressive symptoms and be diagnosed with depression than those who had two copies of the long allele, in relation to stressful life events.

This study suggests that one’s response to stressful life events is in part determined by the genetics that code for serotonin transport.

Please read the paper and join the conversation - what is your rating?

Influence of Life Stress on Depression: Moderation by a Polymorphism in the 5-HTT Gene

In a prospective-longitudinal study of a representative birth cohort, we tested why stressful experiences lead to depression in some people but not in others. A functional polymorphism in the promo…

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Check out the rest of our sprint for Mental Health Awareness Month here: