Influence of life stress on depression:
moderation by a polymorphism in the 5-HTT gene
by
Caspi A, Sugden K, Moffitt TE, Taylor A, Craig IW,
Harrington H, McClay J, Mill J, Martin J, Braithwaite A, Poulton R.
Medical Research Council Social, Genetic,
and Developmental Psychiatry Research Centre,
Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London,
PO80 De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
Science. 2003 Jul 18;301(5631):386-9

ABSTRACT

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 promoter region of the serotonin transporter (5-HT T) gene was found to moderate the influence of stressful life events on depression. Individuals with one or two copies of the short allele of the 5-HT T promoter polymorphism exhibited more depressive symptoms, diagnosable depression, and suicidality in relation to stressful life events than individuals homozygous for the long allele. This epidemiological study thus provides evidence of a gene-by-environment interaction, in which an individual's response to environmental insults is moderated by his or her genetic makeup.

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