Skip to main content
Duke University Libraries
DukeSpace Scholarship by Duke Authors
  • Login
  • Ask
  • Menu
  • Login
  • Ask a Librarian
  • Search & Find
  • Using the Library
  • Research Support
  • Course Support
  • Libraries
  • About
View Item 
  •   DukeSpace
  • Duke Scholarly Works
  • Scholarly Articles
  • View Item
  •   DukeSpace
  • Duke Scholarly Works
  • Scholarly Articles
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

A putatively functional polymorphism in the HTR2C gene is associated with depressive symptoms in white females reporting significant life stress.

Thumbnail
View / Download
229.8 Kb
Date
2014-01
Authors
Brummett, Beverly H
Babyak, Michael A
Williams, Redford B
Harris, Kathleen Mullan
Jiang, Rong
Kraus, William E
Singh, Abanish
Costa, Paul T
Georgiades, Anastasia
Siegler, Ilene C
Show More
(10 total)
Editor
Walss-Bass, Consuelo
Repository Usage Stats
109
views
17
downloads
Abstract
Psychosocial stress is well known to be positively associated with subsequent depressive symptoms. Cortisol response to stress may be one of a number of biological mechanisms that links psychological stress to depressive symptoms, although the precise causal pathway remains unclear. Activity of the x-linked serotonin 5-HTR2C receptor has also been shown to be associated with depression and with clinical response to antidepressant medications. We recently demonstrated that variation in a single nucleotide polymorphism on the HTR2C gene, rs6318 (Ser23Cys), is associated with different cortisol release and short-term changes in affect in response to a series of stress tasks in the laboratory. Based on this observation, we decided to examine whether rs6318 might moderate the association between psychosocial stress and subsequent depressive symptoms. In the present study we use cross-sectional data from a large population-based sample of young adult White men (N = 2,366) and White women (N = 2,712) in the United States to test this moderation hypothesis. Specifically, we hypothesized that the association between self-reported stressful life events and depressive symptoms would be stronger among homozygous Ser23 C females and hemizygous Ser23 C males than among Cys23 G carriers. In separate within-sex analyses a genotype-by-life stress interaction was observed for women (p = .022) but not for men (p = .471). Homozygous Ser23 C women who reported high levels of life stress had depressive symptom scores that were about 0.3 standard deviations higher than female Cys23 G carriers with similarly high stress levels. In contrast, no appreciable difference in depressive symptoms was observed between genotypes at lower levels of stress. Our findings support prior work that suggests a functional SNP on the HTR2C gene may confer an increased risk for depressive symptoms in White women with a history of significant life stress.
Type
Journal article
Subject
Humans
Hydrocortisone
Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2C
Cross-Sectional Studies
Stress, Psychological
Depressive Disorder
Sex Factors
Genotype
Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
Adult
European Continental Ancestry Group
United States
Female
Male
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/17608
Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1371/journal.pone.0114451
Publication Info
Brummett, Beverly H; Babyak, Michael A; Williams, Redford B; Harris, Kathleen Mullan; Jiang, Rong; Kraus, William E; ... Siegler, Ilene C (2014). A putatively functional polymorphism in the HTR2C gene is associated with depressive symptoms in white females reporting significant life stress. PloS one, 9(12). pp. e114451. 10.1371/journal.pone.0114451. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/17608.
This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
Collections
  • Scholarly Articles
More Info
Show full item record

Scholars@Duke

Babyak

Michael Alan Babyak

Professor Emeritus in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Since coming to Duke as an intern in 1994 I have collaborated as a biostatistician and co-investigator at Duke on numerous observational and experimental studies involving behavior, psychosocial factors, health, and disease. The substantive topics have ranged across questions concerning exercise and depression, hypertension, weight loss, the genetics of stress and heart disease, sickle cell disease, to name a few. I am particularly interested in the issue of improving reproducibility and transpa
Brummett

Beverly H. Brummett

Associate Professor Emeritus in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
In the early part of my career, my work generally focused on examining psychosocial determinants or correlates (e.g., emotion, personality, and socioeconomic status) of cardiovascular disease.  However, in the past several years, my work has also expanded to include examining how stressful emotional responses, combined with proposed genetic markers, influence metabolic functioning, cognitive decline, functional capacity and quality of live in the elderly, depressive symptomology, and maj
Costa

Paul T. Costa Jr.

Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Georgiades

Anastasia Zoe Elsa Georgiades

Assistant Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Dr Georgiades research has focused on evaluating bio-behavioral risk-factors, in particular the role mental stress, in the development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. She have written and co-authored over 45 papers in the area of behavioral medicine and have vast experience from designing experimental studies and evaluating epidemiological cohort studies. In addition, she has been co-investigator on intervention studies examining the effects of cognitive behavioral therapy, stress man
Jiang

Rong Jiang

Assistant Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Kraus

William Erle Kraus

Richard and Pat Johnson University Distinguished Professor
My training, expertise and research interests range from human integrative physiology and genetics to animal exercise models to cell culture models of skeletal muscle adaptation to mechanical stretch. I am trained clinically as an internist and preventive cardiologist, with particular expertise in preventive cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation.  My research training spans molecular biology and cell culture, molecular genetics, and integrative human exercise physiology and metabolism. I pr
Siegler

Ilene C. Siegler

Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
My research efforts are in the area of developmental health psychology and organized around understanding the role of personality in health and disease in middle and later life. My primary research activity is as Principal Investigator of the UNC Alumni Heart Study (UNCAHS) a prospective epidemiologic study of 5000 middle aged men and women and 1200 of their spouses that evaluates the role of personality on coronary heart disease and coronary heart disease risk, cancer, and normal a
Singh

Abanish Singh

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
With a unique skill set resulting from outstanding training, my sole aim was to help improve human health through cutting-edge translational research. Specifically, I have been interested in illuminating the mechanisms responsible for the causes and progression of the leading public health conditions, which may help with the development and enhancement of precision medicine.  As part of this endeavor, I also became interested in studying the measurement of biobehavioral risk factors and
Williams

Redford B. Williams Jr.

Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
My research aims to identify psychosocial factors that are involved in the pathogenesis and course of major medical disorders, to characterize the biobehavioral mechanisms whereby such factors influence disease, and to develop both behavioral and pharmacologic means of preventing or ameliorating the adverse impact of psychosocial factors on health and disease. Specific projects that are currently active include: 1) The influence of hostile personality, social isolation, depression and other psyc
More Authors
Alphabetical list of authors with Scholars@Duke profiles.
Open Access

Articles written by Duke faculty are made available through the campus open access policy. For more information see: Duke Open Access Policy

Rights for Collection: Scholarly Articles


Works are deposited here by their authors, and represent their research and opinions, not that of Duke University. Some materials and descriptions may include offensive content. More info

Make Your Work Available Here

How to Deposit

Browse

All of DukeSpaceCommunities & CollectionsAuthorsTitlesTypesBy Issue DateDepartmentsAffiliations of Duke Author(s)SubjectsBy Submit DateThis CollectionAuthorsTitlesTypesBy Issue DateDepartmentsAffiliations of Duke Author(s)SubjectsBy Submit Date

My Account

LoginRegister

Statistics

View Usage Statistics
Duke University Libraries

Contact Us

411 Chapel Drive
Durham, NC 27708
(919) 660-5870
Perkins Library Service Desk

Digital Repositories at Duke

  • Report a problem with the repositories
  • About digital repositories at Duke
  • Accessibility Policy
  • Deaccession and DMCA Takedown Policy

TwitterFacebookYouTubeFlickrInstagramBlogs

Sign Up for Our Newsletter
  • Re-use & Attribution / Privacy
  • Harmful Language Statement
  • Support the Libraries
Duke University