Dataset Information

Depression, Stressful Life Events, and the Impact of Variation in the Serotonin Transporter: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health).

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:The low transcriptionally efficient short-allele of the 5HTTLPR serotonin transporter polymorphism has been implicated to moderate the relationship between the experience of stressful life events (SLEs) and depression. Despite numerous attempts at replicating this observation, results remain inconclusive. METHODS:We examined this relationship in young-adult Non-Hispanic white males and females between the ages of 22 and 26 (n = 4724) participating in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) with follow-up information every six years since 1995. RESULTS:Linear and logistic regression models, corrected for multiple testing, indicated that carriers of one or more of the S-alleles were more sensitive to stress than those with two L-alleles and at a higher risk for depression. This relationship behaved in a dose-response manner such that the risk for depression was greatest among those who reported experiencing higher numbers of SLEs. In post-hoc analyses we were not able to replicate an interaction effect for suicide ideation but did find suggestive evidence that the effects of SLEs and 5HTTLPR on suicide ideation differed for males and females. There were no effects of childhood maltreatment. DISCUSSION:Our results provide partial support for the original hypothesis that 5-HTTLPR genotype interacts with the experience of stressful life events in the etiology of depression during young adulthood. However, even with this large sample, and a carefully constructed a priori analysis plan, the results were still not definitive. For the purposes of replication, characterizing the 5HTTLPR in other large data sets with extensive environmental and depression measures is needed.

SUBMITTER: Haberstick BC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4777542 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Depression, Stressful Life Events, and the Impact of Variation in the Serotonin Transporter: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health).

Haberstick Brett C BC Boardman Jason D JD Wagner Brandon B Smolen Andrew A Hewitt John K JK Killeya-Jones Ley A LA Tabor Joyce J Halpern Carolyn T CT Brummett Beverly H BH Williams Redford B RB Siegler Ilene C IC Hopfer Christian J CJ Mullan Harris Kathleen K

PloS one 20160303 3

<h4>Background</h4>The low transcriptionally efficient short-allele of the 5HTTLPR serotonin transporter polymorphism has been implicated to moderate the relationship between the experience of stressful life events (SLEs) and depression. Despite numerous attempts at replicating this observation, results remain inconclusive.<h4>Methods</h4>We examined this relationship in young-adult Non-Hispanic white males and females between the ages of 22 and 26 (n = 4724) participating in the National Longit ...[more]

PMID: 26938215

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Project description:ContextSubstantial resources are being devoted to identify candidate genes for complex mental and behavioral disorders through inclusion of environmental exposures following the report of an interaction between the serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) and stressful life events on an increased risk of major depression.ObjectiveTo conduct a meta-analysis of the interaction between the serotonin transporter gene and stressful life events on depression using both published data and individual-level original data.Data sourcesSearch of PubMed, EMBASE, and PsycINFO databases through March 2009 yielded 26 studies of which 14 met criteria for the meta-analysis.Study selectionCriteria for studies for the meta-analyses included published data on the association between 5-HTTLPR genotype (SS, SL, or LL), number of stressful life events (0, 1, 2, > or = 3) or equivalent, and a categorical measure of depression defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition) or the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) or use of a cut point to define depression from standardized rating scales. To maximize our ability to use a common framework for variable definition, we also requested original data from all studies published prior to 2008 that met inclusion criteria. Of the 14 studies included in the meta-analysis, 10 were also included in a second sex-specific meta-analysis of original individual-level data.Data extractionLogistic regression was used to estimate the effects of the number of short alleles at 5-HTTLPR, the number of stressful life events, and their interaction on depression. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated separately for each study and then weighted averages of the individual estimates were obtained using random-effects meta-analysis. Both sex-combined and sex-specific meta-analyses were conducted. Of a total of 14,250 participants, 1769 were classified as having depression; 12,481 as not having depression.ResultsIn the meta-analysis of published data, the number of stressful life events was significantly associated with depression (OR, 1.41; 95% CI,1.25-1.57). No association was found between 5-HTTLPR genotype and depression in any of the individual studies nor in the weighted average (OR, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.98-1.13) and no interaction effect between genotype and stressful life events on depression was observed (OR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.94-1.10). Comparable results were found in the sex-specific meta-analysis of individual-level data.ConclusionThis meta-analysis yielded no evidence that the serotonin transporter genotype alone or in interaction with stressful life events is associated with an elevated risk of depression in men alone, women alone, or in both sexes combined.

Project description:BackgroundScientific enthusiasm about gene × environment interactions, spurred by the 5-HTTLPR (serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region) × SLEs (stressful life events) interaction predicting depression, have recently been tempered by sober realizations of small effects and meta-analyses reaching opposing conclusions. These mixed findings highlight the need for further research. Converging evidence suggests that the effects of 5-HTTLPR genotype may be neurodevelopmental in origin, but we are not aware of empirical studies that have investigated whether the 5-HTTLPR genotype × SLE interaction predicts preschool-onset depression (PO-MDD), the earliest validated form of depression.MethodsChildren (n = 234) aged 3-5 were recruited for a longitudinal study designed to examine PO-MDD. In a comprehensive baseline assessment, the child's primary caregivers completed questionnaires and were interviewed about their child's behaviors, psychiatric symptoms, and exposure to SLEs.ResultsA 5-HTTLPR × SLEs interaction emerged, such that children homozygous for the short allele were more susceptible to depression in the context of elevated SLE than long allele carriers. In contrast, at low SLE exposure, short allele homozygotes had fewer depressive symptoms. The data were best fit by a plasticity model with a substantial reduction in fit by diathesis-stress models.ConclusionsExtending studies in adult and adolescent populations, these data suggest that 5-HTTLPR genotype may provide plasticity to environmental influence, for better or worse. Specifically, children homozygous for the short allele were more susceptible to the depressogenic effects of SLEs but benefitted, in the form of reduced depressive symptoms, in the context of relatively benign environmental conditions (i.e. relatively low SLE exposure). These data highlight the importance of examining gene × environment interactions across development, environment, and outcome but should be interpreted cautiously given the small sample size.

Dataset Information

Depression, Stressful Life Events, and the Impact of Variation in the Serotonin Transporter: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health).

Publications

Depression, Stressful Life Events, and the Impact of Variation in the Serotonin Transporter: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health).

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