Kohen R, Myaing MT, Richards J, Zhou C, McCauley EA, Katon W, Richardson LP. Depression persistence and serotonin transporter genotype in adolescents under usual care conditions.
J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol 2013;
23:290-4. [PMID:
23647137 PMCID:
PMC3657280 DOI:
10.1089/cap.2011.0137]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES
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.
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