Integrating Social Science and Behavioral Genetics

Testing the Origin of Socioeconomic Disparities in Depression Using a Genetically Informed Design

Bibliographic Data

ID11027210
AuthorsBriana Mezuk (0000-0003-1798-2285, Briana Mezuk is with the Division of Epidemiology, Department of Family Medicine and Population Health, and the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, and the Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. John M. Myers is with the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University. Kenneth S. Kendler is with the Department of...), J Myers (0000-0001-9947-4051, Virginia Commonwealth University), John M Myers (Briana Mezuk is with the Division of Epidemiology, Department of Family Medicine and Population Health, and the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, and the Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. John M. Myers is with the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University. Kenneth S. Kendler is with the Department of...), Kenneth S Kendler (0000-0001-8689-6570, Briana Mezuk is with the Division of Epidemiology, Department of Family Medicine and Population Health, and the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, and the Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. John M. Myers is with the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University. Kenneth S. Kendler is with the Department of...)
Year2013
Volume103
IssueS1
PagesS145-S151
Publication date2013-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-0036 • E-ISSN: 1541-0048
PublisherAmerican Public Health Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2105/ajph.2013.301247
PMID23927513
PMCIDPMC3786755
OpenAlexW2102467655
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited36

Objectives. We tested 3 hypotheses—social causation, social drift, and common cause—regarding the origin of socioeconomic disparities in major depression and determined whether the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and major depression varied by genetic liability for major depression. Methods. Data were from a sample of female twins in the baseline Virginia Adult Twin Study of Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders interviewed between 1987 and 1989 (n = 2153). We used logistic regression and structural equation twin models to evaluate these 3 hypotheses. Results. Consistent with the social causation hypothesis, education (odds ratio [OR] = 0.78; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.66, 0.93; P .1). Consistent with a common genetic cause, there was a negative correlation between the genetic components of major depression and education (r 2 = –0.22). Co-twin control analyses indicated a protective effect of education and income on major depression even after accounting for genetic liability. Conclusions. This study utilized a genetically informed design to address how social position relates to major depression. Results generally supported the social causation model

Biology · Confidence interval · Depression (economics) · Heritability · Odds ratio · Population · Psychiatry · Socioeconomic status · Sociology · Twin study · Cognitive Abilities and Testing · Demography · Genetic Associations and Epidemiology · Genetics · Health, Environment, Cognitive Aging · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Psychology

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