Culture as a mediator of gene-environment interaction: Cultural consonance, childhood adversity, a 2A serotonin receptor polymorphism, and depression in urban Brazil

• Published in: Social science & medicine (1982) Vol. 161; pp. 109 - 117
• Main Authors: Dressler, William W., Balieiro, Mauro C., Ferreira de Araújo, Luiza, Silva, Wilson A., Ernesto dos Santos, José
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.07.2016; Pergamon Press Inc
• Subjects: 20th century; 5HT2A; Adult; Biology; Brazil; Childhood; Children & youth; Cultural consonance; Culture; Depression; Depression - genetics; Families & family life; Female; Gene-Environment Interaction; Genes; Health; Health problems; Humans; Male; Memory; Mental depression; Mental health; Mental health services; Middle Aged; Neighborhoods; Polymorphism; Polymorphism, Genetic - genetics; Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2A - genetics; Regulation; Serotonin; Social classes; Social Environment; Stress; Surveys and Questionnaires; Symptoms; Treatment outcomes; Urban areas; Urban Population; Brazil; Cultural consonance; Brazil; Depression; 5HT2A; Gene-environment interaction
• ISSN: 0277-9536; 1873-5347
• DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.05.033

Research on gene-environment interaction was facilitated by breakthroughs in molecular biology in the late 20th century, especially in the study of mental health. There is a reliable interaction between candidate genes for depression and childhood adversity in relation to mental health outcomes. The aim of this paper is to explore the role of culture in this process in an urban community in Brazil. The specific cultural factor examined is cultural consonance, or the degree to which individuals are able to successfully incorporate salient cultural models into their own beliefs and behaviors. It was hypothesized that cultural consonance in family life would mediate the interaction of genotype and childhood adversity. In a study of 402 adult Brazilians from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, conducted from 2011 to 2014, the interaction of reported childhood adversity and a polymorphism in the 2A serotonin receptor was associated with higher depressive symptoms. Further analysis showed that the gene-environment interaction was mediated by cultural consonance in family life, and that these effects were more pronounced in lower social class neighborhoods. The findings reinforce the role of the serotonergic system in the regulation of stress response and learning and memory, and how these processes in turn interact with environmental events and circumstances. Furthermore, these results suggest that gene-environment interaction models should incorporate a wider range of environmental experience and more complex pathways to better understand how genes and the environment combine to influence mental health outcomes. •Examines culture as a mediator of gene-environment interaction in depression.•Based on research conducted in urban Brazil.•Childhood adversity interacts with a neuroreceptor gene to predict depression.•This interaction is mediated by cultural consonance in family life.•Results indicate a need for new models of gene-environment interaction.