title: Depression persistence and serotonin transporter genotype in adolescents under usual care conditions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Polymorphisms of the serotonin transporter (SERT) gene have been shown to influence the risk for depression. The goal of this study was to investigate a possible effect of SERT polymorphisms on severity and course of depression symptoms in a community sample of adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Community-dwelling adolescents (n=192) ages 13-17 years, who were at risk for depression, were followed for a period of 6 months. Subjects donated a saliva sample for genotyping of the 5-HTTLPR and STin2 VNTR polymorphisms of SERT.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found no associations between SERT genotype and severity of depressive symptoms at baseline. Depression symptom severity markedly decreased over time. For 5-HTTLPR, we observed a significant interaction between time and genotype, indicating the possibility that heterozygote genotype carriers (s/l) might experience a greater reduction in depression symptoms over time compared with adolescents with the 5-HTTLPR l/l genotype.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study shows that for most community-dwelling adolescents, depressive symptoms decrease over time. A possible interaction effect of time and SERT genotype will require confirmation in larger studies.
authors: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA. ruko@uw.edu
authors: Ruth
authors: R
authors: Kohen
authors: Mon T
authors: MT
authors: Myaing
authors: Julie
authors: J
authors: Richards
authors: Chuan
authors: C
authors: Zhou
authors: Elizabeth A
authors: EA
authors: McCauley
authors: Wayne
authors: W
authors: Katon
authors: Laura P
authors: LP
authors: Richardson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003863:Depression / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics; D005838:Genotype; D006579:Heterozygote; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D018598:Minisatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012075:Remission, Spontaneous; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: C493230:SLC6A4 protein, human; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins
references: Pediatrics. 2010 May;125(5):e1097-103
references: 20368315
references: Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2008 Oct 1;32(7):1735-9
references: 18700161
references: Am J Psychiatry. 2004 Sep;161(9):1626-34
references: 15337653
references: Dev Psychol. 2012 Sep;48(5):1463-75
references: 22390669
references: J Clin Pharmacol. 2006 Sep;46(9):1044-51
references: 16920900
references: Mol Psychiatry. 2006 Mar;11(3):224-6
references: 16402131
references: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2011 May;68(5):444-54
references: 21199959
references: Biol Res Nurs. 2007 Oct;9(2):161-9
references: 17909168
references: Psychiatr Genet. 1996 Winter;6(4):177-81
references: 9149321
references: Biol Psychiatry. 2004 Aug 15;56(4):292-5
references: 15312818
references: Lancet. 1996 Mar 16;347(9003):731-3
references: 8602004
references: Pediatrics. 2010 Dec;126(6):1117-23
references: 21041282
references: J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2011;40(4):572-85
references: 21722029
references: J Affect Disord. 2011 May;130(3):395-404
references: 21112639
references: Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2012 Apr;22(4):239-58
references: 22137564
references: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2008 Nov;65(11):1296-302
references: 18981341
references: Hum Genet. 1997 Dec;101(2):243-6
references: 9402979
references: Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet. 2007 Jun 5;144B(4):561-5
references: 17450557
references: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2008 May;65(5):513-20
references: 18458203
references: Nat Rev Neurosci. 2003 Jan;4(1):13-25
references: 12511858
references: J Korean Med Sci. 2010 Dec;25(12):1824-7
references: 21165304
references: Psychol Med. 2010 Nov;40(11):1767-78
references: 20380781
references: Behav Genet. 2009 Sep;39(5):524-31
references: 19582567
references: J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2010 Feb;51(2):180-7
references: 19811586
references: J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2010 Feb;51(2):173-9
references: 19754661
references: Psychiatr Genet. 2010 Apr;20(2):49-58
references: 20016401