Park Subin, Nam Yoon-Young, Sim Yoojin, Hong Jin Pyo
Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National Hospital, Seoul, South Korea.
Department of Psychiatry, Asan Medical Center, Ulsan University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2015 Jan 27;6:25178. doi: 10.3402/ejpt.v6.25178. eCollection 2015.
The influence of childhood adversity on depression is modulated by genetic vulnerability. The apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOE-ε4) allele is a strong genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Because late-life depressive symptoms could be a part of the preclinical course of AD, the APOE-ε4 allele may contribute to depression in old age.
The aim of this study was to evaluate whether an APOE-ε4 carrier status was associated with depressive symptoms in older adults and to detect the gene-environment interaction between APOE-ε4 status and childhood adversity in relation to depressive symptoms in old age.
The participants consisted of 137 older adults (age range 50-70) without any psychiatric history or clinically significant cognitive impairment. APOE genotypes and measures of childhood adversity and depressive symptoms were obtained.
There was a significant positive association between adverse childhood experiences (ACE) scores and depressive symptoms (B=0.60; 95% CI=0.26, 0.93 for a 1 score increase in ACE scores; p=0.001). Although APOE-ε4 status per se was not associated with depressive symptoms, there was a significant interaction of the ACE scores with the APOE genotype in relation to depressive symptoms (B=0.78; 95% CI=0.02, 1.55; p=0.044). There was a significantly higher effect of childhood adversity on depressive symptoms in APOE-ε4 carriers than non-carriers (t=2.13, p=0.035).
Our results suggest that the APOE-ε4 may modulate the association between childhood adversity and depressive symptoms in older adults. However, more research in a larger sample is needed to gain a better understanding of the relationship between the APOE-ε4, childhood adversity, and depression.
童年逆境对抑郁症的影响受遗传易感性调节。载脂蛋白Eε4（APOE-ε4）等位基因是阿尔茨海默病（AD）的一个强大遗传风险因素。由于晚年抑郁症状可能是AD临床前期病程的一部分，APOE-ε4等位基因可能导致老年期抑郁症。
本研究旨在评估APOE-ε4携带者状态是否与老年人的抑郁症状相关，并检测APOE-ε4状态与童年逆境之间的基因-环境相互作用与老年期抑郁症状的关系。
参与者包括137名年龄在50至70岁之间、无任何精神病史或临床上显著认知障碍的老年人。获取了APOE基因型、童年逆境测量指标和抑郁症状数据。
童年不良经历（ACE）得分与抑郁症状之间存在显著正相关（B = 0.60；ACE得分每增加1分，95%可信区间 = 0.26，0.93；p = 0.001）。虽然APOE-ε4状态本身与抑郁症状无关，但ACE得分与APOE基因型在抑郁症状方面存在显著交互作用（B = 0.78；95%可信区间 = 0.02，1.55；p = 0.044）。童年逆境对APOE-ε4携带者抑郁症状的影响显著高于非携带者（t = 2.13，p = 0.035）。
我们的结果表明，APOE-ε4可能调节老年人童年逆境与抑郁症状之间的关联。然而，需要在更大样本中进行更多研究，以更好地理解APOE-ε4、童年逆境和抑郁症之间的关系。
