Stressful social environment and financial strain drive depressive symptoms, and reveal the effects of a FKBP5 variant and male sex, in African Americans living in Tallahassee

Bibliographic Data

ID8318325
AuthorsKia Fuller (0000-0002-0282-2951, Department of Anthropology University of Florida Gainesville Florida USA), Clarence C Gravlee (0000-0002-0913-2320, Department of Anthropology University of Florida Gainesville Florida USA), C Mccarty (0000-0002-2917-8318, National Bureau of Economic Research), Miaisha M Mitchell (0000-0001-6984-5085, Health Equity Alliance of Tallahassee (HEAT) Tallahassee Florida USA), C J Mulligan (0000-0002-4360-2402, Department of Anthropology University of Florida Gainesville Florida USA, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume176
Issue4
Pages572-583
Publication date2021-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajpa.24362
PMID34250587
OpenAlexW3182458482
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited65

OBJECTIVES: The World Health Organization estimates that almost 300 million people suffer from depression worldwide. African Americans are understudied for depression-related phenotypes despite widespread racial disparities. In our study of African Americans, we integrated information on psychosocial stressors with genetic variation in order to better understand how these factors associated with depressive symptoms. METHODS: Our research strategy combined information on financial strain and social networks with genetic data to investigate variation in symptoms of depression (CES-D scores). We collected self-report data on depressive symptoms, financial strain (difficulty paying bills) and personal social networks (a model of an individual's social environment), and we genotyped genetic variants in five genes previously implicated in depressive disorders (HTR1a, BDNF, GNB3, SLC6A4, and FKBP5) in 128 African Americans residing in Tallahassee, Florida. We tested for direct and gene-environment interactive effects of the psychosocial stressors and genetic variants on depressive symptoms. RESULTS: Significant associations were identified between high CES-D scores and a stressful social environment (i.e., a high percentage of people in participants' social network who were a source of stress) and high financial strain. Only one genetic variant (rs1360780 in FKBP5) was significantly associated with CES-D scores and only when psychosocial stressors were included in the model; the T allele had an additive effect on depressive symptoms. Sex was also significantly associated with CES-D score in the model with psychosocial stressors and genetic variants; males had higher CES-D scores. No significant interactive effects were detected. CONCLUSIONS: A stressful social environment and material disadvantage increase depressive symptoms in the study population. Additional associations with FKBP5 and male sex were revealed in models that included both psychosocial and genetic data. Our results suggest that incorporating psychosocial stressors may empower future genetic association studies and help clarify the biological consequences of social and financial stress

Biology · Depression (economics) · FKBP5 · Gene · Genetic variation · Glucocorticoid · Glucocorticoid receptor · Psychiatry · Psychosocial · Social stress · Social support · Stressor · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Clinical Psychology · Demography · Genetic Associations and Epidemiology · Genetics · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology · Stress Responses and Cortisol · Gerontology

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