Table of contents:
- Is it true that heredity can cause depression?
- In fact, how does depression affect genes?
- Apart from heredity, there are other factors that cause depression
There are various causes of depression that can easily strike a person. Starting from experiencing a traumatic event, consuming excessive drugs, to suffering from serious chronic illnesses. But in addition, many studies have linked the causes of depression with heredity. Is that right?
Is it true that heredity can cause depression?
Shizhong Han, Ph.D., a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins Medicine argues that someone who has a family member with a history of depression is about 20-30 percent more likely to develop depression.
This statement is reinforced by the existence of a study that examined how often depression experienced by twins can affect each other. The results showed that non-identical twins tended to experience major depression at the 20 percent rate. Meanwhile, a pair of identical twins, who have very similar types of genes, experience depression at a higher level, namely up to 50 percent.
This condition is believed to be due to the effect of seeing the behavior of family members who are suffering from depression. As reported by Healthline, when a person pays attention to the behavior of depressed family members, then without realizing it he will also be more susceptible to depression because it seems as if he feels the same way.
In fact, how does depression affect genes?
Furthermore, you may be wondering how depression can affect the genes in a family. In fact, so far it is known that depression is only felt by each person, aka it cannot be contagious.
You see, the interaction between depressed and non-depressed family members will make people who are not depressed become more “sensitive” to various stressors in their environment. That is why, when a person is more prone to experiencing stress, it is also easier for him to develop depression.
Uniquely, Michael J. Meaney, Ph.D., from McGill University tries to explore the mechanisms of depression that originate in a person's ancestry and environment. This research enters the field of epigenetics, which is the study of the process by which the environment or the external is able to activate and deactivate genes, without changing the structure of genes in DNA.
According to Michael, there is a part of a person's brain that is sensitive to changes that occur in the environment. Activity in this part of the brain can then influence a person's feelings to lead to depression.
Apart from heredity, there are other factors that cause depression
Although heredity appears to have a significant influence, it is not the biggest factor in depression. Dr. Wade Berrettini, Ph.D., a lecturer at the Parelman School of Medicine University of Pennsylvania explains that to develop depression you must inherit dozens of gene variations from family members who have depression, and at least have to be in an environment that can trigger depression.
So, you can say that genetics only accounts for about 40 percent of the cause of depression, while the remaining 60 percent is rooted in your environment and lifestyle.
Simply put, situations related to illness, job loss, death of a loved one, pressure from coworkers, and other events can instantly change your mood, triggering an increase in stress hormones, and eventually developing into depression.
In addition, smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages can also affect the components of genes in the body, which in turn lead to certain changes in the brain. Ultimately, this process will affect your mood, leading to bouts of depression.
