Depression in Medical Students: Gene-Environment Interactions

Abstract

This study investigated the interaction of genetic, environmental, and psychological factors in predicting depression and anxiety symptoms in medical students. First-year medical students (n = 141) completed measures of anxiety, depression, hope, and spiritual meaning at three time points during the first year. Buccal samples were utilized to genotype each individual at the s/l variant in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR). A subset (n = 91) completed a measure of recent stressors. Mean levels of depression increased during year one of medical school. Presence of the s/s genotype in the promoter region of the 5-HTT gene was associated with greater increases in depression, but only in association with higher numbers of recent stressors. Spiritual meaning and hope were found to counteract genetic susceptibility to stress-related depressive symptoms in the more vulnerable s/s group.

Prevalência de depressão em estudantes de medicina: uma revisão de escopo

“…Another fact frequently cited in the articles selected for this review was that the rate of depression is high during the first year, followed by a gradual decline in the last years of medical school 35,36,17 . At the Federal University of Cariri and at the Estácio de Juazeiro do Norte Medical School, the prevalence of depression found in the first two years of college was 31.1%; in the two intermediate years, 27.8%; and in the last two years, 25% 17 .…”

Haiku and Healing

“…Empirically, humor has been linked with increased hope (Vilaythong et al., 2003); and spiritual meaning, which was found to increase in one group writing haiku poetry in a previous study (Stephenson & Rosen, 2013), has been found to buffer against depression and increase hope (Mascaro & Rosen, 2006). Hope, in turn, has been found to be a buffer against anxiety and depression (Arnau, Rosen, Finch, Rhudy, & Fortunato, 2007), and spiritual meaning and hope have also been found to counteract genetic susceptibility to stress-related depression in certain groups of medical students (Rosen et al., 2010).…”

Symbol/Meaning Paired-Associate Recall: An “Archetypal Memory” Advantage?

“…The innate aspect of the archetype can also be looked at as predisposition to a genetic condition which needs certain environmental cues to find expression in the sense of epigenetics as described by Roesler [1,9] and Rosen [31,33]. In the light of new discoveries it might well be the case that this epigenetic process which provides the link between environment and genome and determines which genes are being active and which are deactivated might even be more important than the genes themselves and may provide the link between biological substrates—genome and cultural heritage—behavior, habits etc.…”

“…While there are still proponents of the idea that archetypes are transmitted genetically (see for further information the review by Roesler [ 1 ]), many consider discussions of nature versus nurture to be obsolete and stress the interactionist nature of human development [ 1 , 4 , 9 , 17 , 25 , 31 ] or point out psychological factors in evolution in the argumentation against a purely genetically transmitted innateness [ 32 ]. The innate aspect of the archetype can also be looked at as predisposition to a genetic condition which needs certain environmental cues to find expression in the sense of epigenetics as described by Roesler [ 1 , 9 ] and Rosen [ 31 , 33 ]. In the light of new discoveries it might well be the case that this epigenetic process which provides the link between environment and genome and determines which genes are being active and which are deactivated might even be more important than the genes themselves and may provide the link between biological substrates—genome and cultural heritage—behavior, habits etc.…”