Loading...
One of the big stories in psychiatric genetics in the past few years has been the demonstration that having short alleles of the promoter region that is linked to the serotonin transporter gene, 5-HTTLPR, increases one’s risks for major depression and suicide attempts in the wake of adverse life events. Now, researchers have used data from a prospective 9-year study of cardiovascular risk among 1611 young adults in Finland (age range at baseline, 15–30) to extend that paradigm to the dopamine transporter.
Participants were genotyped for the Taq1A polymorphism of the dopamine receptor gene. Adverse life events (death or illness of spouse or child, divorce, or unemployment) were weakly associated with depressive symptoms, as assessed by the Be…