2023-09-09 08:02:58
This text is part of the special Mental Health notebook
While women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression as men, very little was still known about why this might be the case. A new gender-specific study led by researcher Patricia Silveira, associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University, tells us a little more. It reveals many differences between men and women in genes linked to depression.
“Until now, studies on depression were always done with groups of participants who mixed men and women,” indicates Patricia Silveira. However, as we see large differences between the sexes regarding the presentation of clinical depressive symptoms and also the response to treatment, we thought that biological processes could be linked to these differences. »
A gender-specific study of more than 270,000 people revealed that no less than 11 areas of DNA linked to depression were found in women, compared to just one in men. Additionally, the research team found that depression was specifically linked to metabolic diseases in women, such as diabetes and obesity. “In fact, in women, certain genes linked to depression are the same ones that are present when we see these metabolic diseases,” explains the woman who is also a researcher at the Douglas Research Center affiliated with McGill University and the CIUSSS de the West Island of Montreal.
Improve diagnosis
This discovery changes a lot of things when it comes to screening women for depression and metabolic problems. Because not only are the genes involved the same, but these diseases also often coexist in female patients. However, one might naturally think that the presence of depression in patients suffering from metabolic diseases is simply explained by poor lifestyle habits that harm mental and physical health. But it’s really at another level that something is happening: that of genes.
“We could therefore begin to study, investigate and prevent these different diseases together in the clinic,” says Patricia Silveira. We should also be particularly vigilant when a patient diagnosed with depression has metabolic diseases in her family. »
Improve treatment
Questions also arise regarding the treatment of depression. “We already know that people do not all respond in the same way to antidepressants,” says the researcher. Some people respond very well, others not at all. However, we do not know why and we are not able to predict the answer at this time. »
It is for this reason that this study by Patricia Silveira, who carried out her doctoral studies at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil, is important to advance treatments. “The more we know about the genes involved in the disease, the more we will be able to develop specific treatments which will take into account the differences, particularly of sex, between people. »
Still a lot of work to do
Professor Silveira’s study on genetics still remains a first step in this vast field of research. “There are still many elements to discover, for example more specifically on the different molecules, to create new drugs by considering genes,” she indicates.
While this research focused on adults, the researcher now wonders whether we see the same sex-related difference in the genes involved in depression in adolescents for example, or even in children or the elderly. “For the moment, we don’t know,” she explains. Further research will be required. »
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