Polygenic Scores for Depression are Associated with Indices of Neighborhood Adversity

Genome-wide association studies have allowed for the creation of polygenic scores (PGSs) reflecting genetic liability for depression, yet recent work suggests that these PGSs may also reflect greater genetic propensity towards higher levels of stress exposure. The current study sought to extend prior findings to examine whether an established depression PGS (DEP-PGS) is associated with greater stress exposure at the neighborhood level in a sample of preadolescent children. This study included 278 children of European ancestry between the ages of 7 and 11 (45.3% female) and their parent. Parents and children completed clinical interviews and questionnaires and children provided genetic samples. Children’s neighborhoods were defined based on their current home address and geocoded indices of neighborhood adversity (i.e., area socioeconomic disadvantage, crime, opportunity) were matched to zip codes. As hypothesized, children with greater genetic liability for depression as reflected by DEP-PGSs were more likely to live in neighborhoods characterized by greater adversity. Findings were maintained when statistically controlling for family socioeconomic status and parent’s and children’s histories of depression and anxiety. The current findings build upon prior research highlighting depression-relevant gene-environment correlations and extend this work to provide evidence that DEP-PGSs may capture genetic liability for exposure to stressful contexts at the neighborhood level. Future research is needed to replicate findings in diverse samples and to examine whether neighborhood-level adversity mediates the relation between DEP-PGSs and future depression risk in youth.