Association between depressed mood in the elderly and a 5‐HTR2A gene variant

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Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate any possible association between depressed mood in the elderly and two candidate SNPs in the serotonin system: one in the 5‐HTR2A gene promotor (−1438 G/A) and one in the 5‐HT transporter gene (−925 C/A). DNA from a population‐based Swedish twin sample (N = 1,592; mean age = 73) was genotyped using Pryosequencing™. An association was found between the 5‐HTR2A gene promotor polymorphism and depressed mood (OR: 1.5, CI: 1.1–2.1) for the A/A genotype in the total sample. When the sample was analyzed by gender, a significant association (OR: 2.4, CI: 1.4–4.4) was found for males and the A/A genotype, but not for females. The 5‐HT transporter gene was not associated with depressed mood in this elderly population. These results suggest that there might be different genetic mechanisms for males and females contributing to the development of depressed mood in the elderly.