A longitudinal study of epigenetic epidemiology for the primary and secondary prevention of elderly depression

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K08824
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Hygiene and public health
• Research Institution: Toho University
• Principal Investigator: IHARA Kazushige 東邦大学, 医学部, 講師 (10266083)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 森信 繁 吉備国際大学, 保健医療福祉学部, 教授 (30191042) ; 吉田 英世 地方独立行政法人東京都健康長寿医療センター(東京都健康長寿医療センター研究所), 東京都健康長寿医療センター研究所, 研究部長 (00242735) ; 淵上 学 広島大学, 学内共同利用施設等, 助教 (40403571) ; 大渕 修一 地方独立行政法人東京都健康長寿医療センター(東京都健康長寿医療センター研究所), 東京都健康長寿医療センター研究所, 研究副部長 (50265740)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: エピジェネティクス / 疫学 / 大うつ病性障害 / 小うつ病性障害 / メチル化障害 / 高齢者 / SCID / 縦断研究

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We cross-sectionally and longitudinally examined the association between major depressive disorder (MDD) and the DNA methylation rates (DMRs) of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene in blood among the elderly. Through epidemiologic surveys, psychiatrists identified incident/current-episode cases of MDD and non-depressed controls. Cross-sectional analyses using current-episode cases and controls revealed that DMRs of some units at the CpG island at the promoter of exon I of the BDNF gene were significantly different between persons with MDD and controls. A case-control study using incident cases and controls revealed that DMRs of some CpG units of the BDNF gene in blood preserved at a survey when MDD had not developed yet were significantly different from DMRs of controls using blood at the same survey which blood for corresponding cases were preserved. We additionally explored the correlation between DMRs of CpG units of the BDNF gene and age among non-depressed persons.

Free Research Field

精神疾患の疫学