Cited by 636Genetic Associations and EpidemiologyNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorTreatment of Major Depression

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 59 of the 59 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

No Support for Historical Candidate Gene or Candidate Gene-by-Interaction Hypotheses for Major Depression Across Multiple Large Samples

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Interest in candidate gene and candidate gene-by-environment interaction hypotheses regarding major depressive disorder remains strong despite controversy surrounding the validity of previous findings. In response to this controversy, the present investigation empirically identified 18 candidate genes for depression that have been studied 10 or more times and examined evidence for their relevance to depression phenotypes. METHODS: Utilizing data from large population-based and case-control samples (Ns ranging from 62,138 to 443,264 across subsamples), the authors conducted a series of preregistered analyses examining candidate gene polymorphism main effects, polymorphism-by-environment interactions, and gene-level effects across a number of operational definitions of depression (e.g., lifetime diagnosis, current severity, episode recurrence) and environmental moderators (e.g., sexual or physical abuse during childhood, socioeconomic adversity). RESULTS: No clear evidence was found for any candidate gene polymorphism associations with depression phenotypes or any polymorphism-by-environment moderator effects. As a set, depression candidate genes were no more associated with depression phenotypes than noncandidate genes. The authors demonstrate that phenotypic measurement error is unlikely to account for these null findings. CONCLUSIONS: The study results do not support previous depression candidate gene findings, in which large genetic effects are frequently reported in samples orders of magnitude smaller than those examined here. Instead, the results suggest that early hypotheses about depression candidate genes were incorrect and that the large number of associations reported in the depression candidate gene literature are likely to be false positives.

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Crossref · 10.1176/appi.ajp.2018.18070881

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  1. Coleman JRI, 2018, bioRxiv
  2. First MB, 1996, User’s Guide for the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders–Research Version

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Metadata

Authors
Border, R., Johnson, E. C., Evans, L. M., Smolen, A., Berley, N., Sullivan, P. F., & Keller, M. C.
Affiliations
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
Venue
American Journal of Psychiatry
Published
2019-05-01
Volume
176
Issue
5
Pages
376-387
ISSN
  • 0002-953X (ISSN-L)
  • 1535-7228
OpenAlex
W2919957599
Cited by
629
References
57
Citations by year
2026: 53 · 2025: 49 · 2024: 68 · 2023: 84 · 2022: 87 · 2021: 111 · 2020: 118 · 2019: 56
FWCI
55.87
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
other-oa
Locations
  • American Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (1532235, 1532236)
  • Pfizer
  • H. Lundbeck A/S
  • National Institute of Mental Health (U01MH109528, R01MH100141, U01MH109536, T32MH016880)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology (medical) › Treatment of Major Depression
Keywords
major depressive disorder, candidate genes, gene-environment interaction, genetic polymorphism, depression subtypes, childhood abuse, socioeconomic adversity, false positives, measurement error
MeSH terms
Psychological Trauma, Adverse Childhood Experiences, Major Depressive Disorder, Humans, Phenotype, Polymorphism, Genetic, Recurrence, Severity of Illness Index, Socioeconomic Factors, Reproducibility of Results, Genetic Association Studies, Gene-Environment Interaction

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