New Delhi, Oct 8
A team of Australian researchers has decoded important genetic differences in how females and males experience depression for the first time, an advance that could pave the way for more targeted intervention and treatments.
In the study, published in Nature Communications, scientists found that genetic factors contribute more to depression risk in females than in males.
The team from QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute discovered about twice as many genetic "flags" for depression in the DNA of females as they did in that of males.
"We already know that females are twice as likely to suffer from depression in their lifetime than males," said Dr. Brittany Mitchell, Senior Researcher at QIMR Berghofer's Genetic Epidemiology Lab.