title: Media portrayals and health inequalities: a case study of characterizations of Gene x Environment interactions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This article examines how genetic and environmental interactions associated with health inequalities are constructed and framed in the presentation of scientific research.
  
  
  METHODS
  It uses the example of a major article about depression in a longitudinal study of young adults that appeared in Science in 2003.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This portrayal of findings related to health inequalities uses a genetic lens that privileges genetic influences and diminishes environmental ones.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The emphasis on the genetic side of Gene x Environment interactions can serve to deflect attention away from the important impact of social inequalities on health.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research and Department of Sociology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA. avhorw@rci.rutgers.edu
authors.forename: Allan V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Horwitz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D004777:Environment; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D008402:Mass Media; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D012923:Social Class
chemical_list: D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins