Changing Polygenic Penetrance on Depression Among Adults in the United Kingdom: The Role of Historical Contexts and Birth Cohorts

Evelina Akimova , University of Oxford

Changes that occur over time across different birth cohorts is a major field of research in demography and sociology, as cohort effects reflect the importance of historical changes shaping people's lives. Ongoing discussion of depression also covers this aspect of research. The prevalence of depression is believed to have a historical trend and to occur more frequently among recent birth cohorts. Observed increases in the occurrence of depression could be due to various factors, including changes in policies, macro-economic conditions, and lifestyles. Genetic influences on depression may affect individual responses to contextual aspects, leading to variation in genetic penetrance on depression across birth cohorts (known as gene-by-cohort interactions). Accordingly, this paper investigates whether polygenic prediction of depression varies by birth cohorts in the UK. Through theoretical considerations of gene-environment interactions, I perform a regression analysis using the UKHLS genetic sample. I show some evidence supporting gene-by-cohort interactions in depression among adults in the UK, which I further link with exposures to economic recessions.

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 Presented in Session 34. Determinants of Depression