Access
This article is part of Nature's premium content.
Published online 18 July 2003 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news030714-15
News
Gene length predicts depression risk
Some people are hit harder by stressful life events than others.
Variation in a single gene may explain why some people weather stressful events while others are plunged into depression, say scientists.
The gene, which encodes a protein called 5-HTT, reveals its influence when people experience divorce, debt, unemployment or other occasions of "threat, loss, humiliation or defeat", Terrie Moffitt of King's College London and her colleagues have shown.
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
Comments
Reader comments are usually moderated after posting. If you find something offensive or inappropriate, you can speed this process by clicking 'Report this comment' (or, if that doesn't work for you, email webadmin@nature.com). For more controversial topics, we reserve the right to moderate before comments are published.
There are currently no comments.
