A new study suggests that while a certain gene variant may predispose people to
depression following a history of bad life events, such as childhood abuse, that same gene may
also enhance happiness when bad life events are absent.
The researchers say their study shows “what might be considered a risk gene for depression in one
context may actually be beneficial in another.”
The finding challenges a traditional view about the link between genetics and depression,
suggest Dr. Chad Bousman and colleagues, from the University of Melbourne in Australia, who
report their work in the British Journal of Psychiatry Open.
The traditional view holds that if you carry a version of a gene that is linked to higher
risk of depression, then it makes you more vulnerable to depression.
But the new study suggests it is less a case of vulnerability and more a case of
plasticity – what deepens the negative may also heighten the positive – as Dr. Bousman
explains:
“Our results suggest some people have a genetic makeup that makes them more
susceptible to negative environments, but if put in a supportive environment these same
people are likely to thrive.”
The team of psychiatrists and general practitioners suggests the findings have profound
implications for the treatment of depression.
“You can’t change your genotype or go back and change your childhood, but you can take
steps to modify your current environment,” says Dr. Bousman. “It also means that it’s not as
clear-cut as telling a person that because they have a risk gene, they’re doomed. This
research is showing that’s not the case at all.”
First study to examine link between SERT and ongoing severe depressive symptoms
The researchers were interested in finding out why some adults with a history of
childhood sexual or physical abuse go on to develop long-term depression.
The study is the first to investigate how a certain gene can influence people’s
sensitivity to environment by following a group of participants over time.
The gene they investigated is called SERT. It codes for a protein that transports the
mood-regulating chemical serotonin.
Each of us has one of three versions of SERT: the long-long (l/l), the short-long (s/l) or the short-short (s/s) version.
For the study, the team analyzed the DNA of 333 middle-aged Australians of Northern and
Western European descent and assessed them for symptoms of depression over 5 years using a
mental health questionnaire called PHQ-9 (the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders
Patient Health Questionnaire).
The results showed that of the 23% of participants with the s/s version of SERT, those who
had a history of childhood abuse were the most likely to experience ongoing severe depressive
symptoms in middle age.
However, carriers of the s/s version of SERT who did not have a history of abuse
were also the ones whose mental health assessment showed them to be happier than the rest of
the participants.
The researchers suggest the gene could be used to assess people’s susceptibility to
depression, particularly if they have a history of child abuse. It could also help to
identify patients who may need extra support.
Dr. Bousman suggests the findings also offer hope to people who experience ongoing
clinical depression: genetic makeup is not the only thing that determines how they might
experience depression. He concludes:
“This research tells us that what may be considered a risk gene in one
context may actually be beneficial in another. So this directly opposes the notion of
genetic determinism, the idea that your genes define your fate.”
He and his colleagues now plan to extend their research to see if several genes working
together also have this effect.
They also point out that their study was limited to participants of Northern and Western
European descent, and the findings may not apply to other populations.
Meanwhile, Medical News Today have learned of new research that suggests a healthy diet may reduce the risk of depression. A BMC
Medicine study that followed over 15,000 participants for 10 years, led by the
University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in Spain, found that those who ate lots of fruits,
vegetables, nuts and legumes had a reduced risk of developing depression.
Written by Catharine Paddock PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
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