EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS AND PREDISPOSITION FOR DEPRESSION IN ADULT LIFE
AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59099/prpub.2026.142Keywords:
childhood adversity, depression, epigenetics, stressAbstract
According to the Pan-American Health Organization, depression represents the main cause of incapacity in the world. The appearance of depression is facilitated by both genetic and environmental risk factors (particularly stress). Drawing a bridge between those fields, epigenetics studies how life experiences influence gene expression. Thus, the goal of this research consists in describing behavioral genetics findings that explore the relationship between depression in adult life and epigenetic alterations caused by childhood stress. The method consisted in an integrative review with searches in six databases (PubMed, Nature, Taylor and Francis, Capes, Scielo and BVS). The results point out that alterations caused by stress increase the predisposition for depressive symptoms in adulthood. However, it’s worth noting the cumulative trait of these alterations, as well as limitations in the research and the absence of Brazilian studies.
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