A new study revealed a link between genetic predisposition to depression and the severity of its symptoms. However, scientists raised another question: does such a tendency affect a person's future financial situation? This is reported by PsyPost.
As part of the study, two long-term observations were organized: one for the first group of 5,690 people aged 16 to 29, and another for the second group of 8,964 people aged approximately 53 to 64. For the participants, a polygenic score was calculated, reflecting the aggregate of genetic variations associated with depression.
The results showed that the higher the polygenic score, the lower the education level of the participants, the smaller their financial assets, and the greater the amount of debt. At first glance, this confirmed the hypothesis about the influence of genetic predisposition to depression on socio-economic status.
However, when analyzing data within families (involving siblings who share about half of their parents' DNA and similar upbringing conditions), the picture changed. Although genetic predisposition still predicted a greater number of depression cases, the connection with education level, debt, and wealth disappeared. A direct causal link between genetic vulnerability to depression and future social status was not confirmed.
