TY - JOUR
T1 - The interacting effect of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and stressful life events on adolescent depression is not an artifact of gene-environment correlation
T2 - Evidence from a longitudinal twin study
AU - Chen, Jie
AU - Li, Xinying
AU - McGue, Matt
PY - 2013/10
Y1 - 2013/10
N2 - Background Confounding introduced by gene-environment correlation (rGE) may prevent one from observing a true gene-environment interaction (G × E) effect on psychopathology. The present study investigated the interacting effect of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and stressful life events (SLEs) on adolescent depression while controlling for the rGE by two means: separating pure environmental factors (independent SLEs) from the environmental factors under partial genetic control (dependent SLEs) and adopting a prospective longitudinal design. Methods A total of 780 pairs of Chinese twins, aged 11-17 years (mean = 13.6, SD = 1.8) at intake, were followed up twice. Self-reported depression symptoms at Time 1 and Time 2 were assessed by the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). SLEs occurring between Time 1 and Time 2 were assessed by a self-reported checklist. SLEs were differentiated into independent and dependent ones and were validated by heritability analyses using twin design. The interacting effects between the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and numbers of SLEs (total SLEs and independent SLEs) on intraindividual change of depression symptoms were examined. Results After controlling for sex, age, age square, and Time 1 depression, both total SLEs × BDNF Val66Met genotype and independent SLEs × BDNF Val66Met genotype significantly predicted Time 2 depression. Val allele carriers (Val/Val and Val/Met) were more susceptible to the detrimental effects of stress. Conclusions There is a true G × E effect underlying the observed interaction between BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and environmental stress on depression.
AB - Background Confounding introduced by gene-environment correlation (rGE) may prevent one from observing a true gene-environment interaction (G × E) effect on psychopathology. The present study investigated the interacting effect of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and stressful life events (SLEs) on adolescent depression while controlling for the rGE by two means: separating pure environmental factors (independent SLEs) from the environmental factors under partial genetic control (dependent SLEs) and adopting a prospective longitudinal design. Methods A total of 780 pairs of Chinese twins, aged 11-17 years (mean = 13.6, SD = 1.8) at intake, were followed up twice. Self-reported depression symptoms at Time 1 and Time 2 were assessed by the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). SLEs occurring between Time 1 and Time 2 were assessed by a self-reported checklist. SLEs were differentiated into independent and dependent ones and were validated by heritability analyses using twin design. The interacting effects between the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and numbers of SLEs (total SLEs and independent SLEs) on intraindividual change of depression symptoms were examined. Results After controlling for sex, age, age square, and Time 1 depression, both total SLEs × BDNF Val66Met genotype and independent SLEs × BDNF Val66Met genotype significantly predicted Time 2 depression. Val allele carriers (Val/Val and Val/Met) were more susceptible to the detrimental effects of stress. Conclusions There is a true G × E effect underlying the observed interaction between BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and environmental stress on depression.
KW - Adolescent
KW - BDNF Val66Met polymorphism
KW - depressive symptoms
KW - gene-environment correlation
KW - gene-environment interaction
KW - stressful life events
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U2 - 10.1111/jcpp.12099
DO - 10.1111/jcpp.12099
M3 - Article
C2 - 23848344
AN - SCOPUS:84883655722
SN - 0021-9630
VL - 54
SP - 1066
EP - 1073
JO - Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines
JF - Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines
IS - 10
ER -