Abstract
Serotonin plays a central role in mood regulation and the development of depressive disorders. The present study investigated whether a functional polymorphism (5HTTLPR) of the serotonin transporter gene interacts with maltreatment in the prediction of depression. A cohort of 17–18 years old students (n = 1,482) anonymously completed the Survey of Adolescent Life and Health in Vestmanland 2006 and gave a saliva sample for DNA extraction. An association between maltreatment and adolescent depression was found independent of sex. When the whole population was analyzed, no main effect of 5HTTLPR in association with depression was found. When separated by sex, a significant main effect and a G × E interaction effect of the SS allele was found among girls. No gene main effect or G × E interaction effect was found among boys. The present study confirms previous findings of sex differences in interaction effects between the 5HTTLPR polymorphism and maltreatment in the prediction of adolescent depression.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Psychiatric Association (APA) (2000) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders—text revision. American Psychiatric Association Press, Washington DC
Araya R, Hu K, Heron J, Enoch M-A, Evans J, Lewis G, Nutt D, Goldman D (2008) Effects of stressful life events, maternal depression and 5-HTTLPR genotype on emotional symptoms in pre-adolescent children. Am J Med Genet Part B (Neuropsychiatr Genet) E-pub 14 nov 2008
Biver F, Lotstra F, Monclus M, Wikler D, Damhaut P, Mendlewicz J, Goldman S (1996) Sex difference in 5HT2 receptor in the living human brain. Neurosci Lett 204(1–2):25–28
Brummett BH, Boyle SH, Kuhn CM, Siegler IC, Williams RB (2008a) Associations among central nervous system serotonergic function and neuroticism are moderated by gender. Biol Psychiatry 78:200–203
Brummett BH, Boyle SH, Siegler IC, Kuhn CM, Ashely-Koch A, Jonassaint CR, Zücher S, Collins A, Williams RB (2008b) Effects of environmental stress and gender on associations among symptoms of depression and the serotonin transporter gene linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR). Behav Genet 38:34–43
Brummett BH, Muller CL, Collins AL, Boyle SH, Kuhn CM, Siegler IC, Williams RB, Ashely-Koch A (2008c) 5-HTTLPR and gender moderate changes in negative affect responses to tryptophan infusion. Behav Genet 38:476–483
Caspi A, Sugden K, Moffitt TE, Taylor A, Craig IW, Harrington H, McClay J, Mill J, Martin J, Braithwaite A, Poulton R (2003) Influence of life stress on depression: moderation by a polymorphism in the 5-HTT gene. Science 301(5631):386–389
Cervilla JA, Molina E, Rivera M, Torres-González F, Bellón JA, Moreno B, Luna JD, Lorente JA, Mayoral F, King M, Nazareth I, Gutiérrez B (2007) The risk for depression conferred by stressful life events is modified by variation at the serotonin transporter 5HTTLPR genotype: evidence from the Spanish PREDICT-Gene cohort. Mol Psychiatry 12:748–755
Chipman P, Jorm AF, Prior M, Sanson A, Smart D, Tan X, Easteal S (2007) No interaction between the serotonin transporter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) and childhood adversity or recent stressful life events on symptoms of depression: results from two community surveys. Am J Med Genet Part B (Neuropsyhiatr Genet) 144B:561–565
Collier DA, Stober G, Li T, Heils A, Catalano M, Di Bella D, Arranz MJ, Murray RM, Vallada HP, Bengel D, Muller CR, Roberts GW, Smeraldi E, Kirov G, Sham P, Lesch KP (1996) A novel functional polymorphism within the promoter of the serotonin transporter gene: possible role in susceptibility to affective disorders. Mol Psychiatry 1(6):453–460
Costes N, Merlet I, Ostrowsky K, Faillenot I, Lavenne F, Zimmer L, Ryvlin P, Le Bars D (2005) A 18F-MPPF PET normative database of 5-HT1A receptor binding in men and women over aging. J Nucl Med 46(12):1980–1989
Dragan WL, Oniszczenko W (2006) Association of a functional polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene with personality traits in females in a Polish population. Neuropsychobiology 54:45–50
Du L, Bakish D, Hrdina PD (2000) Gender differences in association between serotonin transporter gene polymorphism and personality traits. Psychiatr Genet 10(4):159–164
Eley TC, Sugden K, Corsico A, Gregory AM, Sham P, McGuffin P, Plomin R, Craig IW (2004) Gene-environment interaction analysis of serotonin system markers with adolescent depression. Mol Psychiatry 9(10):908–915
Gillespie NA, Whitfield JB, Williams B, Heath AC, Martin NG (2005) The relationship between stressful life events, the serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR) genotype and major depression. Psychol Med 35(1):101–111
Grabe HJ, Lange M, Wolff B, Volzke H, Lucht M, Freyberger HJ, John U, Cascorbi I (2005) Mental and physical distress is modulated by a polymorphism in the 5-HT transporter gene interacting with social stressors and chronic disease burden. Mol Psychiatry 10:220–224
Hankin BL, Abramson LY, Moffitt TE, Silva PA, McGee R, Angell KE (1998) Development of depression from preadolescence to young adulthood: emerging gender differences in a 10-year longitudinal study. J Abnorm Psychol 107:128–140
Heils A, Teufel A, Petri S, Stober G, Riederer P, Bengel D, Lesch KP (1996) Allelic variation of human serotonin transporter gene expression. J Neurochem 66(6):2621–2624
Hu X, Oroszi G, Chun J, Smith TL, Goldman D, Schuckit MA (2005) An expanded evaluation of the relationship of four alleles to the level of response to alcohol and the alcoholism risk. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 29(1):8–16
Jacobs N, Kenis G, Peeters F, Derom C, Vlietinck R, van Os J (2006) Stress-related negative affectivity and genetically altered serotonin transporter function. Evidence of synergism in shaping risk of depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry 63:989–996
Kaufman J, Yang B-Z, Douglas-Palumberi H, Grasso D, Lipschitz D, Houshyar S, Krystal JH, Gelernter J (2006) Brain-derived neurotrophic factor-5-HTTLPR gene interactions and environmental modifiers of depression in children. Biol Psychiatry 59:673–680
Kendler KS, Kuhn JW, Vittum J, Prescott CA, Riley B (2005) The interaction of stressful life events and a serotonin transporter polymorphism in the prediction of episodes of major depression: a replication. Arch Gen Psychiatry 62(5):529–535
Kornstein SB, Schatzberg AF, Thase ME, Yonkers KA, McCullough JP, Keitner GI, Gelenberg AJ, Davis SM, Harrison WM, Keller MB (2001) Gender differences in treatment response to sertraline versus imipramine in chronic depression. Am J Psychiatry 157(9):1445–1452
Kraft JB, Slager SL, McGrath PJ, Hamilton SP (2005) Sequence analysis of the serotonin transporter and associations with antidepressant response. Biol Psychiatry 58(5):374–381
Laucht M, Treutlein J, Blomeyer D, Buchmann AF, Schmid B, Becker K, Zimmermann US, Schmidt MH, Esser G, Rietschel M, Banaschewski T (2009) Interaction between the 5-HTTLPR serotonin transporter polymorphism and environmental adversity for mood and anxiety psychopathology: evidence from a high-risk community sample of young adults. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol E-pub 20 jan 2009
Lazary J, Lazary A, Gonda X, Benko A, Molnar E, Juhasz G, Bagdy G (2008) New evidence for the association of the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) haplotypes, threatening life events, and depressive phenotype. Biol Psychiatry 64(6):498–504
Lesch KP, Balling U, Gross J, Strauss K, Wolozin BL, Murphy DL, Riederer P (1994) Organization of the human serotonin transporter gene. J Neural Transm Gen Sect 95(2):157–162
Lesch KP, Bengel D, Heils A, Sabol SZ, Greenberg BD, Petri S, Benjamin J, Muller CR, Hamer DH, Murphy DL (1996) Association of anxiety-related traits with a polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene regulatory region. Science 274(5292):1527–1531
Miller LE, Smith KL (1983) Handling nonresponse issues. J Ext 21(5):45–50
Munafo MR, Clark T, Flint J (2005) Does measurement instrument moderate the association between the serotonin transporter gene and anxiety-related personality traits? A meta-analysis. Mol Psychiatry 10:415–419
Nakamura M, Ueno S, Tanabe H (2000) The human serotonin transporter gene linked polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) shows then novel allelic variants. Mol Psychiatry 5:32–38
Nilsson KW, Sjoberg RL, Damberg M, Leppert J, Ohrvik J, Alm PO, Lindstrom L, Oreland L (2006) Role of monoamine oxidase A genotype and psychosocial factors in male adolescent criminal activity. Biol Psychiatry 59(2):121–127
Nilsson KW, Sjoberg RL, Wargelius HL, Leppert J, Lindstrom L, Oreland L (2007) The monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) gene, family function and maltreatment as predictors of destructive behaviour during male adolescent alcohol consumption. Addiction 102(3):389–398
Nilsson KW, Wargelius H-L, Sjöberg RL, Leppert J, Oreland L (2008) The MAOA gene, platelet MAO-B activity and psychosocial environment in adolescent female and alcohol-related problem behaviour. Drug Alcohol Depend 93:51–62
Nishizawa S, Benkelfat C, Young SN, Leyton M, Mzengeza S, de Montigny C, Blier P, Diksic M (1997) Differences between males and females in rates of serotonin synthesis in human brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 94(10):5308–5313
Orstavik RE, Kendler KS, Czajkowski N, Tambs K, Reichborn-Kjennerud T (2007) Genetic and environmental contributions to depressive personality disorder in a population-based sample of Norwegian twins. J Affect Disord 99:181–189
Pinker S (2003) The blank slate: the modern denial of human nature. Penguin, London
Rice F, Harold GT, Shelton KH, Thapar A (2006) Family conflict interacts with genetic liability in predicting childhood and adolescent depression. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 45(7):841–848
Rutter M, Silberg J (2002) Gene-environment interplay in relation to emotional and behavioral disturbance. Annu Rev Psychol 53:463–490
Rutter M, Caspi A, Moffitt TE (2003) Using sex differences in psychopathology to study causal mechanisms: unifying issues and research strategies. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 44(8):1092–1115
Sjoberg RL, Nilsson KW, Nordquist N, Öhrvik J, Leppert J, Lindström L, Oreland L (2006) Development of depression—sex and the interaction between environment and promoter polymorphism of the serotonin transporter gene. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 9(4):443–449
Sjoberg RL, Nilsson KW, Wargelius HL, Leppert J, Lindstrom L, Oreland L (2007) Adolescent girls and criminal activity: role of MAOA-LPR genotype and psychosocial factors. Am J Med Genet Part B (Neuropsychiatr Genet) 144B:159–164
Surtees PG, Wainwright NW, Willis-Owen SA, Luben R, Day NE, Flint J (2006) Social adversity, the serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR) polymorphism and major depressive disorder. Biol Psychiatry 59:224–229
Svanborg P, Ekselius L (2003) Self-assessment of DSM-IV criteria for major depression in psychiatric out- and inpatients. Nord J Psychiatry 57(4):291–296
Taylor SE, Way BM, Welch WT, Hilmert CJ, Lehman BJ, Eisenberger NI (2006) Early family environment, current adversity, the serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism, and depressive symptomatology. Biol Psychiatry 60:671–676
Uher R, McGuffin P (2008) The moderation by the serotonin transporter gene of environmental adversity in the aetiology of mental illness: review and methodological analysis. Mol Psychiatry 13:131–146
Walderhaug E, Magnusson A, Neumeister A, Lappalainen J, Lunde H, Refsum H, Landro NI (2007) Interactive effects of sex and 5-HTTLPR on mood and impulsivity during tryptophan depletion in healthy people. Biol Psychiatry 62:593–599
Wilhelm K, Mitchell PB, Niven H, Finch A, Wedgwood L, Scimone A, Blair IP, Parker G, Schofield PR (2006) Life events, first depression onset and the serotonin transporter gene. Br J Psychiatry 188:210–215
Williams RB, Marchuk DA, Gadde KM, Barefoot JC, Grichnik K, Helms MJ, Kuhn CM, Lewis JG, Schanberg SM, Stafford-Smith M, Suarez EC, Clary GL, Svenson IK, Siegler IC (2003) Serotonin-related gene polymorphisms and central nervous system serotonin function. Neuropsychopharmacology 28:533–541
Zalsman G, Huan Y-Y, Oquendo MA, Burke AK, Hu X-Z, Brent DA, Ellis SP, Goldman D, Mann JJ (2006) Association of a triallelic serotonin transporter gene promoter region (5HTTLPR) polymorphism with stressful life events and severity of depression. Am J Psychiatry 163(9):1588–1593
Acknowledgments
Grants from the following funds and organizations are acknowledged: The Uppsala and Örebro Regional Research Council, Fredrik and Ingrid Thurings Foundation, the County Council of Västmanland, Swedish Prison and Probation Service/Scientific Advisory Board, Swedish Research Council (VR), AFA Insurance, and Systembolagets Råd för Alkoholforskning (SRA). The sponsors of the study had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing of the report.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Edited by Peter McGuffin.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Åslund, C., Leppert, J., Comasco, E. et al. Impact of the Interaction Between the 5HTTLPR Polymorphism and Maltreatment on Adolescent Depression. A Population-Based Study. Behav Genet 39, 524–531 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-009-9285-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-009-9285-9