Role of Genetics in Depression
Role of Genetics in Depression
In the modern era, several individuals are getting affected with some of the most health-threatening conditions such as depression. Depression is a state of mind which is nowadays usually found in 1 out of 6 individuals when the global statistics are observed. This usually occurs due to a rise in the professional stress and improper work-life balance. Also, it is said that hormonal imbalances in men and women also create a way to depression. But there is no specific cause of occurrence of depression in the population. As we are progressing towards an advanced world, various researches are held to find out the cause of depression. One of the potential factors which has a strong link with presence of depression is that of genetics. As per one of the latest researches, it is found that if a person has developed depression, then there are two to three times chances of his family members like siblings and children to be diagnosed with depression-like condition. These family members are in direct relation with him and therefore are at more risk. When expressed in the form of numbers, these relatives have 20% to 30% more chances than that of the healthy individuals who have no family member being diagnosed with such conditions. Experts have opinionated the fact that talking to family members, especially parents, is one of the best ways to find out whether you are subjected to depression or not. This is the least expensive way as well to know whether you will ever be diagnosed with depression.
According to one of the top medical institutions in the world, genetics contributes to around 50% of the depression cases in the population across the globe. It has a significant role in the occurrence of a major type of depression. Depression occurs with the changes in a set of genes rather than some particular changes in one specific gene in the respective individual’s body. The study also mentioned that no one gene inherited from any one of the parents could cause depression. An individual inherits a specific combination of genes which thereby causes any significant health condition at a gradual pace. Certain specific combinations lead to the occurrence and thereby later diagnosis of conditions such as depression. You will be surprised to hear that development of depression is associated with more than 102 genetic variants, which are present across 269 genes. Each of these genes contributes to the occurrence of genetics-based depression in patients. Some individuals can turn themselves resilient to environmental factors which tend to lead to depression in such individuals. If an individual has a genetic connection with depression, then if in case his stress levels increase over the years, he is more likely to suffer from depression. This is because the genetic presence of depression along with stress increases the chances of the individual to suffer from depression. Thus, genetic link and depression are closely associated with each other, which impacts the overall well-being of the concerned individual.
