Effects of Neighborhood Crime on Epigenetic Change and Depression among African American Women

• In Event: Biosocial Criminology: The Effects of Neighborhoods and Environmental Toxins

Abstract

Despite the pivotal role that exposure to neighborhood crime plays in mental health problems, very little is known about how individuals living in high-crime neighborhoods influences individuals’ depression through biosocial mechanisms. First, a profusion of studies reported that genetic variation interacts with the environmental context to influence depression. However, the extent to which the interaction between neighborhood crime and genotype predicts depression is unknown. In addition, documenting the gene × environment interaction is only a starting point in understanding the biosocial mechanisms of human behavior. Recently, molecular biologists indicated that changes in DNA methylation are environmentally mediated processes and are involved in the increase or decrease of expression and activity in gene functions. Unfortunately, no studies have examined that DNA methylation might help explain the link between neighborhood crime and depression. Using a sample from the Family and Community Health Study (FACHS), we found not only that the effects of neighborhood crime on depression were moderated by the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism, but also that the effect of gene × neighborhood crime on depression was mediated by 5HTT (SLC6A4) methylation. Thus, our findings provide evidence that neighborhood crime served as a critical context for gene regulation that drives depression.

Authors

• Man-Kit Lei, University of Georgia

• Ronald L. Simons, University of Georgia