Evidence indicates the genetic susceptibility to depression and anxiety is both overlapping and dimensional. In the current study, a quantitative phenotype had been created from several depression and anxiety-related measures in order to index this common genetic susceptibility (G). This has been studied in 119 sibships comprising 312 individuals, selected for extreme scores on G, from a community-based sample of 34,371 individuals. In a pathway based candidate gene study, we examined five microsatellite markers located within or nearby to five serotonin system genes (5HT2C, 5HT1D, 5HT1B, TPH1, and MAOB). Statistical analysis, carried out using QTDT, gave a significant association with a microsatellite downstream of TPH1. Further analysis included a life-events composite as a co-variable, this lead to a stronger association of TPH1. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report an association of the 3' end of TPH1 with continuous measures of depression and anxiety.
Copyright 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.