Genetic Heterogeneity in Depressive Symptoms Following the Death of a Spouse: Polygenic Score Analysis of the U.S. Health and Retirement Study

Author/s: 

Ben Domingue

,

Hexuan Liu

,

Aysu Okbay

,

Daniel Belsky

Year of Publication: 
2017
Publication: 
The American Journal of Psychiatry

Experience of stressful life events is associated with risk of depression. Yet many exposed individuals do not become depressed. A controversial hypothesis is that genetic factors influence vulnerability to depression following stress. This hypothesis is often tested with a “diathesis-stress” model, in which genes confer excess vulnerability. The authors tested an alternative formulation of this model: genes may buffer against depressogenic effects of life stress.

APA Citation

Domingue, B., Liu, H., Okbay, A., & Belsky, D. (2017). Genetic Heterogeneity in Depressive Symptoms Following the Death of a Spouse: Polygenic Score Analysis of the U.S. Health and Retirement Study. The American Journal of Psychiatry.

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