Presentation Type
Poster
Discipline Track
Biomedical Science
Abstract Type
Research/Clinical
Abstract
Background: Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) influence health through psychological, social, environmental, and cultural domains according to the psychosocial-cultural model of health. This report provides evidence of the intricate relationship between genetics, depression, and the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH). We applied a joint interaction model to account for G×Sex and G×SDoH interaction in the face of depression to establish if both types of interactions are important and independent of one another in the setting of depression. We estimated the corresponding genetic effect and extracted envophenotypes using Best Linear Unbiased Prediction to remove the influence of genetic variation on expression. Using the resultant envophenotypes, we used a genome-wide scan of RNA sequence data to identify transcripts jointly associated with sex, SDoH, and depression. This research aims to understand the complex interplay of genes, SDoH, and depression in Mexican Americans.
Methods: We employed a cross-sectional family-based design of 525 participants belonging to large Mexican-American families, highlighting the heritability of depression (as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory-II) and SDoH (as measured by the Social Determinants of Health evaluations determined by The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Accountable Health Communities Health-Related Social Needs Screening Tool (AHC HRSN). Using statistical inference models for the phenotypic expression of depression, we estimated the corresponding genetic effect and extracted envophenotypes using Best Linear Unbiased Prediction to remove the influence of genetic variation on expression. Using the resultant envophenotypes, we used a genome-wide scan of RNA sequence data to identify sex-related transcripts jointly associated with depression and Social Determinants of Health.
Results: We present the observed significant associations between environmentally determined gene expression with Social Determinants of Health and depression. By controlling genetic factors, we identified these expression phenotypes as potentially involved in the gene-environmental axis affecting depression and SdoH. We also established that there are both Gene-by Sex and Gene-by SDoH interactions, which are independent. There is a higher-level interaction in that differing genes (reported) are involved in men and women, and the genes in men vary at both ends of the SDoH spectrum.
Conclusions: Our findings highlight the importance of considering gene-environmental interactions in depression, the Social Determinants of Health, and sex. The shared genetic associations warrant further investigation as potential targets for therapeutic interventions and predictive models in managing depression, Social Determinants of Health in Mexican Americans. Future longitudinal studies in diverse populations will enhance our understanding of these complex gene-environmental interactions and their implications for precision medicine.
Academic/Professional Position
Medical Student
Academic/Professional Position (Other)
Human Genetics
Mentor/PI Department
Family Medicine
Recommended Citation
Duddu, Sowmya; Manusov, Eron; Diego, Vincent; Almeida, Marcio; Laston, Sandra; Blangero, John; and Williams-Blangero, Sarah, "Gene by Environment interaction: The Social Determinants of Health and Depression" (2024). Research Symposium. 36.
https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/somrs/2024/posters/36
Included in
Gene by Environment interaction: The Social Determinants of Health and Depression
Background: Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) influence health through psychological, social, environmental, and cultural domains according to the psychosocial-cultural model of health. This report provides evidence of the intricate relationship between genetics, depression, and the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH). We applied a joint interaction model to account for G×Sex and G×SDoH interaction in the face of depression to establish if both types of interactions are important and independent of one another in the setting of depression. We estimated the corresponding genetic effect and extracted envophenotypes using Best Linear Unbiased Prediction to remove the influence of genetic variation on expression. Using the resultant envophenotypes, we used a genome-wide scan of RNA sequence data to identify transcripts jointly associated with sex, SDoH, and depression. This research aims to understand the complex interplay of genes, SDoH, and depression in Mexican Americans.
Methods: We employed a cross-sectional family-based design of 525 participants belonging to large Mexican-American families, highlighting the heritability of depression (as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory-II) and SDoH (as measured by the Social Determinants of Health evaluations determined by The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Accountable Health Communities Health-Related Social Needs Screening Tool (AHC HRSN). Using statistical inference models for the phenotypic expression of depression, we estimated the corresponding genetic effect and extracted envophenotypes using Best Linear Unbiased Prediction to remove the influence of genetic variation on expression. Using the resultant envophenotypes, we used a genome-wide scan of RNA sequence data to identify sex-related transcripts jointly associated with depression and Social Determinants of Health.
Results: We present the observed significant associations between environmentally determined gene expression with Social Determinants of Health and depression. By controlling genetic factors, we identified these expression phenotypes as potentially involved in the gene-environmental axis affecting depression and SdoH. We also established that there are both Gene-by Sex and Gene-by SDoH interactions, which are independent. There is a higher-level interaction in that differing genes (reported) are involved in men and women, and the genes in men vary at both ends of the SDoH spectrum.
Conclusions: Our findings highlight the importance of considering gene-environmental interactions in depression, the Social Determinants of Health, and sex. The shared genetic associations warrant further investigation as potential targets for therapeutic interventions and predictive models in managing depression, Social Determinants of Health in Mexican Americans. Future longitudinal studies in diverse populations will enhance our understanding of these complex gene-environmental interactions and their implications for precision medicine.