Chunk #29 — Discussion — Selective effects of recent life events related to financial difficulties in interaction with the 5-HTTLPR genotype in the development of depressive symptoms
However, genetic liability to major depression may also increase the risk of being exposed to stressful life events, as it was found in one study investigating 2164 female twins where genetic liability for major depression was associated with a significantly increased risk for six types of personal stressful life events including major financial problems. This study concluded that women with a genetic predisposition for major depression may also be more prone to expose themselves to high-risk environments.58 A recent genome-wide association study also reported the heritability of reporting of recent life events pointing out that ~30% of the variance of self-reported environmental events can be explained by common genetic variants, although association analyses for specific single-nucleotide polymorphisms yielded only suggestive significance values.59 In our study, however, no significant effect of 5-HTTLPR on life events was found; therefore, this is not responsible for the observed effects.
