Department of Psychology, Estonian Centre of Behavioural and Health Sciences, University of Tartu, Tiigi 78, Tartu, 50410, Estonia.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2011 Apr;36(3):380-92. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2010.02.009. Epub 2010 Mar 4.
Major depressive disorder is predicted by enduring anxiety-related personality traits, in particular by neuroticism, which have genetic foundations. Neuroticism in turn is strongly related with the genetic risk for depression. Search for gene variants associated with neuroticism and depression has led to some good candidates, but the consistency of findings is very far from ideal. Adverse life events are causal to development of mood disorders, and often the vulnerability genes can be detected only when environmental impact has been objectively assessed. Yet the continuity of depression diagnosis from early childhood to adulthood is limited, while childhood depression increases odds of other affect-related disorders such as substance abuse and personality disorders. Whether specific genes have an impact seems to depend on the period of life both because of biological maturation and differences in major environmental factors, but also active engagement--or the failure to do so--of the vulnerable subjects with their environment. It is proposed that subjects with genetically determined neurotic tendencies are likely to attempt to select coping strategies that reduce events perceived as harmful and can by this means develop resilience towards affective disorders.
重度抑郁症由持久的焦虑相关人格特质预测，特别是神经质，其具有遗传基础。神经质反过来又与抑郁的遗传风险密切相关。寻找与神经质和抑郁相关的基因变异导致了一些很好的候选基因，但研究结果的一致性远不理想。不利的生活事件是导致情绪障碍发展的原因，而且只有当客观评估环境影响时，才能检测到易感性基因。然而，从儿童早期到成年期的抑郁症诊断连续性是有限的，而儿童期抑郁症增加了其他与情绪相关的障碍（如药物滥用和人格障碍）的发病几率。特定的基因是否有影响似乎取决于生命的不同阶段，因为这既与生物成熟有关，也与主要环境因素的差异有关，但也与易感个体与环境的积极互动（或未能互动）有关。有人提出，具有遗传决定的神经质倾向的个体可能试图选择减轻被视为有害的事件的应对策略，从而对情感障碍产生适应能力。
