Stressful life events and the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTT) in recurrent clinical depression.

ABSTRACT:

Background

An interaction between recent stressful life events (SLEs) and a serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) in depression has been inconsistently reported. Some of this variability may be due to a previous focus on sub-clinical depression, inclusion of individuals at the lower or upper ends of the age-span, or assumptions concerning the degree of dominance of the low expressing allele. Therefore, a large sample of patients with recurrent clinically diagnosed depression and controls screened for absence of depression was utilised to examine the moderating effect of each 5-HTTLPR genetic model on the association between SLEs and severe depressive episodes.

Method

A sample of 1236 recurrent unipolar depression cases and 598 age-matched, never psychiatrica

SUBMITTER: Fisher HL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3272366 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature