Association between Polymorphisms in the Dopamine Transporter Gene and Depression: Evidence for a Gene-Environment Interaction in a Sample of Juvenile Detainees

• Published in: Psychological science 2008-01, Vol.19 (1), p.62-69
• Main Authors: Haeffel, Gerald J., Getchell, Marya, Koposov, Roman A., Yrigollen, Carolyn M., DeYoung, Colin G., af Klinteberg, Britt, Oreland, Lars, Ruchkin, Vladislav V., Grigorenko, Elena L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescent boys; Adolescents; Anxiety; Anxiety disorders; Boys; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 5 - genetics; Clinical significance; Cognitive psychology; Depression; Depressive Disorder - genetics; Depressive Disorder - psychology; Depressive disorders; Depressive personality disorders; Detention; Disorders; Dopamine; Dopamine plasma membrane transport proteins; Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins - genetics; dopamine transporter gene; Environmental aspects; Experimental psychology; Gene Expression - physiology; Genealogy; Genes; Genetic Predisposition to Disease - genetics; Genetic research; Genetic variation; Genetics; Genotypes; Humans; Juvenile delinquency; Juvenile Delinquency - psychology; juvenile detainees; Juvenile detention centers; Male; Medical genetics; MEDICIN; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; MEDICINE; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Mother-Child Relations; Neurotransmitters; Odds Ratio; Parental rejection; Parenting style; Parents & parenting; Polymorphism; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide - genetics; polymorphisms; Prisoners - psychology; Psychology; Psychopathology; Psykologi; Rejection (Psychology); Risk Factors; SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP; Social Environment; SOCIAL SCIENCES; Socialvetenskap; Statistics as Topic; Suicidal ideation; Suicide; Teenagers
• ISSN: 0956-7976; 1467-9280; 1467-9280
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02047.x

Previous research has generated examples of how genetic and environmental factors can interact to create risk for psychopathology. Using a gene-by-environment (G x E) interaction design, we tested whether three polymorphisms in the dopamine transporter gene (DAT1, also referred to as SLC6A3, located at 5pl5.33) interacted with maternal parenting style to predict firstonset episodes of depression. Participants were male adolescents (N=76) recruited from a juvenile detention center in northern Russia. As hypothesized, one of the polymorphisms (rs40184) moderated the effect of perceived maternal rejection on the onset of major depressive disorder, as well as on suicidal ideation. Further, this G x E interaction was specific to depression; it did not predict clinically significant anxiety. These results highlight the need for further research investigating the moderating effects of dopaminergic genes on depression.