Emotional eating in adolescents: a gene (SLC6A4/5-HTT) - depressive feelings interaction analysis.
Eating in response to distress--i.e. emotional eating--is highly prevalent in (female) adults with binge eating, but has only a very low prevalence in young children. The present study addresses the emergence of emotional eating in adolescence in relation to depressive feelings. Because a reduction of food intake is considered the biologically natural response to distress, we tested whether the a-typical stress-response of emotional eating develops in interaction with genetic vulnerability. We hypothesized that the short allele of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene, which is associated with lower serotonin activity, would moderate the relation between depressive feelings and the increase in emotional eating, particularly in females. A sample of Dutch families with two adolescents was included in a longitudinal study with a four-year follow-up. A moderator effect of 5-HTTLPR genotype on the relation between depressive feelings and the increase in emotional eating was found in both sexes in the youngest siblings (n = 286). In the older siblings (n = 298), this specific moderator effect was only found in the girls. Younger adolescents and older adolescent girls showed a higher increase in emotional eating if they carried the 5-HTTLPR short allele. This is the first study that found support for a gene × depressive feelings interaction on emergence of emotional eating in (female) adolescents.
van Strien
Tatjana
T
Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands. vanstrien@psych.ru.nl
van der Zwaluw
Carmen S
CS
Engels
Rutger C M E
RC
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D003863:Depression / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology*; D004435:Eating / Q000235:genetics*; D004644:Emotions; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D010551:Personality / Q000235:genetics; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012044:Regression Analysis; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
C493230:SLC6A4 protein, human; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins