2017
Contemporaneous Social Environment and the Architecture of Late-Life Gene Expression Profiles
Levine ME, Crimmins EM, Weir DR, Cole SW. Contemporaneous Social Environment and the Architecture of Late-Life Gene Expression Profiles. American Journal Of Epidemiology 2017, 186: 503-509. PMID: 28911009, PMCID: PMC5860329, DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwx147.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsTranscriptional responseGene expression programsGene regulation pathwaysBioinformatics-based approachGene expression profilesTranscription factor activationGene expression levelsExpression programsLow socioeconomic statusRegulation pathwaysExpression profilesStress response systemNeuroendocrine signalingFactor activationAntiviral responseExpression levelsSocioeconomic statusPhysiological changesDistinct patternsChronic activationLong-term healthActivationGenesSignalingBiology
2015
Effects of Recent Stress and Variation in the Serotonin Transporter Polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) on Depressive Symptoms: A Repeated-Measures Study of Adults Age 50 and Older
Arpawong TE, Lee J, Phillips DF, Crimmins EM, Levine ME, Prescott CA. Effects of Recent Stress and Variation in the Serotonin Transporter Polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) on Depressive Symptoms: A Repeated-Measures Study of Adults Age 50 and Older. Behavior Genetics 2015, 46: 72-88. PMID: 26330209, PMCID: PMC4720538, DOI: 10.1007/s10519-015-9740-8.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH KeywordsAgedAllelesDepressionDepressive DisorderEthnicityFemaleGene-Environment InteractionGenetic Association StudiesGenetic Predisposition to DiseaseHaplotypesHumansLife Change EventsMaleMiddle AgedPolymorphism, Single NucleotidePromoter Regions, GeneticSerotonin Plasma Membrane Transport ProteinsStress, PsychologicalConceptsDepressive symptomsU.S. population-based studyRecent stressOlder adultsStress-diathesis hypothesisPopulation-based studySerotonin transporter gene promoter regionSingle nucleotide polymorphismsDepressive symptom levelsPopulation-based sampleAdults age 50Race/ethnicityAge 50Repeated-measures designSerotonin transporter polymorphismDepressive symptomatologySymptomsOlder individualsSymptom levelsReverse causationTransporter polymorphismMeasures studyDifferential effectsShort alleleStressful eventsLoneliness, eudaimonia, and the human conserved transcriptional response to adversity
Cole SW, Levine ME, Arevalo JM, Ma J, Weir DR, Crimmins EM. Loneliness, eudaimonia, and the human conserved transcriptional response to adversity. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2015, 62: 11-17. PMID: 26246388, PMCID: PMC4637182, DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.07.001.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsRisk factorsBehavioral health risk factorsCommunity-dwelling older adultsPeripheral blood samplesPro-inflammatory genesHealth risk factorsSocial isolationMixed effect linear model analysesChronic social adversityCTRA gene expressionStrength of associationGene expressionPsychological resilience factorsResilience factorsAdversity factorsBlood samplesIncreased expressionMeasures of lonelinessOlder adultsSocial adversityAnxiety symptomsUS HealthLinear model analysisRetirement StudyHealth risksChildhood and later life stressors and increased inflammatory gene expression at older ages
Levine ME, Cole SW, Weir DR, Crimmins EM. Childhood and later life stressors and increased inflammatory gene expression at older ages. Social Science & Medicine 2015, 130: 16-22. PMID: 25658624, PMCID: PMC4394113, DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.01.030.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsChildhood traumaLow SESPro-inflammatory gene expressionProinflammatory gene expression levelsEarly lifeLater lifeLife health outcomesInflammatory gene expressionLater-life health outcomesHigh riskInflammatory genesAdulthood adversityChildhood healthHealth outcomesAdverse experiencesAdult traumaOlder ageTraumaLate-life stressorsGene expressionElevated levelsFuture healthComposite scoreLife stressorsChildhood