Moderation of adult depression by the serotonin transporter promoter variant (5-HTTLPR), childhood abuse and adult traumatic events in a general population sample.
The impact of the promoter polymorphisms of the serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR) on mood has been studied by two-way interaction models comprising one environmental factor and genotype variants. However, childhood abuse is assumed to be associated with different psychobiological long-term effects than adult traumatic events. Both types of trauma may interact on an individual basis throughout the lifespan moderating the impact of the 5-HTTLPR s allele on depressive disorders. Therefore, the hypothesis of a three-way interaction among the 5-HTTLPR, childhood abuse and adult traumatic experience was tested. Caucasian subjects (1,974) from the general population in Germany (Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP)) were analyzed. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II). Childhood abuse was assessed with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Adult traumatic events were derived from the SCID interview (DSM-IV) on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Global three-way interactions among the 5-HTTLPR, adult traumatic experiences and childhood abuse (P = 0.0007) were found. Carriers of the ss or sl genotypes who had been exposed to childhood abuse and to more than two adult traumatic events had higher mean BDI-II scores (16.0 [95% CI 8.4-23.6]) compared to those carrying the ll genotype (7.6 [4.5-10.7]). These results were supported using a second, more severe definition of childhood abuse (P = 0.02). No two-way interactions were observed (P > 0.05). Childhood abuse and adult traumatic events may act synergistically in interaction with the s allele of the 5-HTTLPR to increase the risk for depressive symptoms independently from the lifetime diagnosis of PTSD.
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany. grabeh@uni-greifswald.de
Hans Jörgen
HJ
Grabe
Christian
C
Schwahn
Jessie
J
Mahler
Andrea
A
Schulz
Carsten
C
Spitzer
Kristin
K
Fenske
Katja
K
Appel
Sven
S
Barnow
Matthias
M
Nauck
Georg
G
Schomerus
Reiner
R
Biffar
Dieter
D
Rosskopf
Ulrich
U
John
Henry
H
Völzke
Harald Jürgen
HJ
Freyberger
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005828:Genetics, Population; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012044:Regression Analysis; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000235:genetics*; D055815:Young Adult
C493230:SLC6A4 protein, human; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins