The availability of modern medical and research technologies means that medical science is constantly developing - more and more is known about the importance of genes in the pathogenesis of many different diseases. For this reason, many people wonder whether the individuals that occur in their relatives can occur in themselves - considerations may concern, inter alia, depressive disorders. Can depression be inherited?
Depressive disorders are one of the most common mental disorders. Their causes are different - researchers point out that their occurrence may be fostered by both abnormal levels of certain neurotransmitters in the central nervous system and experiencing some difficult events for the psyche, such as the death of a loved one, loss of job or bullying at school.
Today, scientists are taking a closer look at other possible causes of mental disorders, including depression - we are talking about genetic determinants. Every now and then there are reports of new genes being discovered that are linked to mental he alth problems. It is therefore not surprising that more and more people are starting to wonder if depression can be inherited.
Depression and genes
So far, no one specific gene has been discovered, the mutations of which would be responsible for the occurrence of depressive disorders. Yes, there has been an association between certain genetic disorders and depression, but to say that depression is a genetic disease is definitely not, and probably never will.
Depressive disorders are conditioned by many factors - their occurrence is influenced by factors of biological, social and psychological nature. So the genes themselves and their possible mutations, which can be inherited from parents struggling with depression, may to some extent increase their offspring's susceptibility to the same problem.
So it may eventually happen that a person without genetic burdens will not develop depression after the loss of a loved one, but the problem may appear in turn after the same event in such a person, inwhose family many people struggled with mood disorders.
"contagious" depression?
People whose families have someone struggling with depression have an increased risk of this problem themselves, and it may be caused not only by the genes inherited by it. Well, by observing the behavior of their loved ones, people learn certain patterns of reacting to different situations. The consequences of this may be especially noticeable in the children of people struggling with anxiety disorders, who themselves often exhibit numerous anxiety reactions.
Similarly to the case described above, it happens with depressive disorders. Then, when a child grows up surrounded by depressive parents, later in life, the child may begin to react to various situations with a depressed mood and a sense of helplessness, and eventually he may develop depressive disorders.
Depression risk assessment if a loved one suffers
The risk of depression increases when a family member has suffered from this type of disorder - given this relationship and the fact that genes may have some influence on the occurrence of this individual, some people consider doing some research, the results of which would inform them about the exact risk of developing these disorders.
As it is actually possible to find companies offering this type of tests, it is not worth deciding on them - there are no studies at the moment that could answer whether someone will develop depression at some point in their life .
When a patient knows that he or she is at increased risk of depression, he should first of all pay attention to his well-being. In a situation where he notices symptoms that persist for a long time, such as, for example, low mood, decreased motivation to act or loss of current interests, he should see a psychiatrist in order to start the necessary treatment as soon as possible.
AuthorBow. Tomasz NęckiA graduate of the medical faculty at the Medical University of Poznań. An admirer of the Polish sea (most willingly strolling along its shores with headphones in his ears), cats and books. In working with patients, he focuses on always listening to them and spending as much time as they need.