Whichever way we look at it, and whether risk variants are common or rare, it seems that the challenge for MDD will be much harder than for the less prevalent more heritable psychiatric disorders. Larger samples are required whether we attempt to identify associated variants with small effect across average backgrounds or attempt to enhance detectable effects sizes by selection of homogeneity of genetic or environmental background. In the long-term, a greater understanding of the etiology of MDD will require large prospective, longitudinal, uniformly and broadly phenotyped and genotyped cohorts that allow the joint dissection of the genetic and environmental factors underlying MDD.
