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Genetic contribution to the relationship between personality and depressive symptoms among older women

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 October 2009

I. Pakkala ,
S. Read ,
J. Kaprio ,
M. Koskenvuo ,
M. Kauppinen  and
T. Rantanen
I. Pakkala*
Affiliation:
Finnish Centre for Interdisciplinary Gerontology, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
S. Read
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK
J. Kaprio
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Finland Department of Mental Health and Alcohol Research, National Public Health Institute, Finland
M. Koskenvuo
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Finland
M. Kauppinen
Affiliation:
Finnish Centre for Interdisciplinary Gerontology, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
T. Rantanen
Affiliation:
Finnish Centre for Interdisciplinary Gerontology, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
*
*Address for correspondence: I. Pakkala, M.Sc., Finnish Centre for Interdisciplinary Gerontology, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35 (Viveca), FIN-40014 University of Jyväskylä, Finland. (Email: [email protected])
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Abstract

Background

Prior studies suggest that certain types of personality are at higher risk for developing depressive disorders. This study examined the relationship between old age depressive symptoms and two middle-age personality dimensions, neuroticism and extraversion.

Method

The present study is part of the Finnish Twin Study on Aging, where altogether 409 female twins who had completed the Eysenck Personality Inventory at the age of 38–51 years were studied for depressive symptoms 28 years later using Center for the Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Logistic regression analysis suitable for dependent data and univariate and Cholesky models for decomposing the genetic and environmental factor were used.

Results

Middle age extraversion protected from later depressive symptoms while neuroticism increased the risk. Twin modeling indicated that the association between neuroticism and depressive symptoms resulted from shared genetic risk factors common to both traits. However, a substantial proportion of the genetic vulnerability was specific to old age depressive symptoms and was not shared with neuroticism. Middle age extraversion had no genetic relationship with old age depressive symptoms.

Conclusions

The relationship between middle age neuroticism and old age depressive symptoms is strong but only partly the result of genetic factors that predispose to both neuroticism and depressive symptoms. Extraversion, by contrast, has no genetic relationship with depressive symptoms experienced in old age.

Keywords

Agingdepressive symptomspersonalitytwins
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 40 , Issue 8 , August 2010 , pp. 1357 - 1366
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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