Abstract
BackgroundThe serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene may play an important role in the onset and development of mental disorders. Past studies have tested whether a functional polymorphism in the 5-HTT gene linked promoter region (5-HTTLPR) moderated the association between stress and depressive symptoms, but the results of these studies were inconsistent. Thus, the aim of the current study was to examine the interaction between 5-HTTLPR and stress that predict depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents.MethodsA total of 252 healthy adolescents (131 females and 121 males, aged from 14 to 18, mean = 16.00, standard deviation = 0.60) participated in this study. During the initial assessment, all participants completed the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and Adolescent Life Events Questionnaire (ALEQ) and were genotyped for the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism. Participants subsequently completed CES-D and ALEQ once every three months during the subsequent 24 months. A multilevel model was used to investigate the 5-HTTLPR × stress interaction in predicting depressive symptoms.ResultsThe results indicated no main effect of 5-HTTLPR and a significant 5-HTTLPR × stress interaction in females only. Females with at least one 5-HTTLPR S allele exhibited more depressive symptoms under stressful situations. No significant 5-HTTLPR × stress interaction was found in males.ConclusionsIn Chinese adolescents, there are gender differences on the interaction between 5-HTTLPR and stress that predict depressive symptoms. The association between stress and depressive symptoms is moderated by 5-HTTLPR in Chinese female adolescents.
Highlights
The serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene may play an important role in the onset and development of mental disorders
The current study addresses this shortcoming by utilizing a multi-wave longitudinal design in which levels of stress and depressive symptoms are assessed at multiple time points during the course of the 24-month follow-up interval
No significant gender differences were found in the frequency distributions of 5-HTTLPR (χ2 = 0.19, p > 0.05)
Summary
The serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene may play an important role in the onset and development of mental disorders. Past studies have tested whether a functional polymorphism in the 5-HTT gene linked promoter region (5-HTTLPR) moderated the association between stress and depressive symptoms, but the results of these studies were inconsistent. A number of studies suggest that both genetic and environmental factors are involved in the onset or course of depression [1,2]. The most researched functional polymorphism of the 5-HTT gene to date is the serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR). This polymorphism has two common alleles, the long (L) and short (S) alleles, differing by a 44-base pair (bp) insertion/deletion [9]. The S allele is associated with a lower transcriptional efficiency of the 5-HTT gene promoter compared with the L allele [10]
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