Journal article
Neighborhood crime and depressive symptoms among African American women: Genetic moderation and epigenetic mediation of effects
Social science & medicine (1982), Vol.146, pp.120-128
12/2015
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.10.035
PMCID: PMC4655437
PMID: 26513121
Abstract
Social scientists have long recognized the important role that neighborhood crime can play in stress-related disease, but very little is known about potential biosocial mechanisms that may link the experience of living in high-crime neighborhoods with depression.
The current study introduces an integrated model that combines neighborhood, genetic, and epigenetic factors.
Hypotheses were tested with a sample of 99 African American women from the Family and Community Health Study (FACHS).
Allele variants of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTT) interact with neighborhood crime to predict depressive symptoms in a manner consonant with the differential susceptibility perspective. Furthermore, this association is mediated by DNA methylation of the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene.
The findings provide support for an integrated model in which changes in DNA methylation, resulting from neighborhood crime, can result in an increase or decrease in gene activity which, in turn, influences depressive symptoms.
•Neighborhood crime on depressive symptoms and methylation are moderated by the 5-HTTLPR in a “for better” or “for worse” manner.•Methylation mediates the interaction effect of neighborhood crime and the 5-HTTLPR on depressive symptoms.•Neighborhoods serve as a critical context for epigenetic processes that are associated with depressive symptoms.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Neighborhood crime and depressive symptoms among African American women: Genetic moderation and epigenetic mediation of effects
- Creators
- Man-Kit Lei - Center for Family Research, University of Georgia, USASteven R.H Beach - Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, USARonald L Simons - Department of Sociology, University of Georgia, USARobert A Philibert - Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, USA
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Social science & medicine (1982), Vol.146, pp.120-128
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.10.035
- PMID
- 26513121
- PMCID
- PMC4655437
- NLM abbreviation
- Soc Sci Med
- ISSN
- 0277-9536
- eISSN
- 1873-5347
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Grant note
- This research was funded by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH62699, R01MH080898, and R01MH60666) and the National Heart, Lung, Blood Institute (R01HL118045). Additional support for this study was derived from the Center for Translation and Prevention Science (Grant Number P30 DA027827) funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
- Comment
- Test development: Neighborhood Crime Scale
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 12/2015
- Academic Unit
- Roy J. Carver Department of Biomedical Engineering; Psychiatry; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
- Record Identifier
- 9984070419102771
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