Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Soc Sci Med. 2012 Jan;74(1):67-74. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.09.036. Epub 2011 Nov 6.
The social environment plays a considerable role in determining major psychiatric disorders. Emerging evidence suggests that features of the social environment modify gene expression independently of the primary DNA sequence through epigenetic processes. Accordingly, dysfunction of epigenetic mechanisms offers a plausible mechanism by which an adverse social environment gets "into the mind" and results in poor mental health. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the studies suggesting that epigenetic changes introduced by the social environment then manifest as psychological consequences. Our goal is to build a platform to discuss the ways in which future epidemiologic studies may benefit from including epigenetic measures. We focus on schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, anorexia nervosa, and substance dependence as examples that highlight the ways in which social environmental exposures, mediated through epigenetic processes, affect mental health.
社会环境在决定主要精神障碍方面起着相当大的作用。新出现的证据表明，社会环境的特征通过表观遗传过程独立于主要 DNA 序列来修饰基因表达。因此，表观遗传机制的功能障碍为不良社会环境“进入大脑”并导致心理健康不良提供了一个合理的机制。本综述的目的是概述表明社会环境引起的表观遗传变化随后表现为心理后果的研究。我们的目标是建立一个平台，讨论未来的流行病学研究如何受益于包括表观遗传措施。我们以精神分裂症、重性抑郁障碍、创伤后应激障碍、神经性厌食症和物质依赖为例，强调了社会环境暴露通过表观遗传过程影响心理健康的方式。
