title: Neighborhood crime and depressive symptoms among African American women: Genetic moderation and epigenetic mediation of effects.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Social scientists have long recognized the important role that neighborhood crime can play in stress-related disease, but very little is known about potential biosocial mechanisms that may link the experience of living in high-crime neighborhoods with depression.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The current study introduces an integrated model that combines neighborhood, genetic, and epigenetic factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hypotheses were tested with a sample of 99 African American women from the Family and Community Health Study (FACHS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Allele variants of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTT) interact with neighborhood crime to predict depressive symptoms in a manner consonant with the differential susceptibility perspective. Furthermore, this association is mediated by DNA methylation of the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings provide support for an integrated model in which changes in DNA methylation, resulting from neighborhood crime, can result in an increase or decrease in gene activity which, in turn, influences depressive symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Center for Family Research, University of Georgia, USA. Electronic address: karlo@uga.edu.
authors.forename: Man-Kit
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Steven R H
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Beach
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Ronald L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Simons
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, USA.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Philibert
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000235:genetics*; D003415:Crime / Q000523:psychology*; D019175:DNA Methylation; D003863:Depression / Q000235:genetics*; D057890:Epigenomics; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C493230:SLC6A4 protein, human; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins
keywords: 5-HTTLPR; African American women; DNA methylation; Depressive symptoms; Neighborhood crime