Women Are Nearly Twice As Likely To Be Diagnosed With Depression: But, This New Study Suggests The Gender Gap Is Due To RNA Differences, Not Hormone Levels

Ilshat - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
Ilshat - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only, not the actual person

According to the Mayo Clinic, women are nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression as compared to men.

While inherited traits, biological factors, and other personal life circumstances are associated with a higher risk of depression in general, there are specific risk factors that most significantly impact women.

These include puberty, premenstrual problems, pregnancy, postpartum depression, perimenopause, and menopause, as well as life circumstances and culture– such as unequal power and status, work overload, and abuse.

Although, a team of researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai recently conducted a study that revealed that higher depression diagnosis rates among women might not be so closely tied to hormonal changes. Instead, the team’s findings revealed a possible link that lies in RNA.

RNA, also known as ribonucleic acid, is a polymeric molecule that plays a critical role in the coding, decoding, regulation, and expression of genes.

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), on the other hand, is known to interact with certain proteins, RNA, and DNA to carry out other forms of gene expression that are not very well understood.

However, previous research has found that FEDORA– one type of lncRNA– might be linked with depression.

So, the researchers set out to understand whether FEDORA might be the answer to why more women suffer from chronic depression.

The team studied the brains of recently deceased people and compared the levels of FEDORA present in women as opposed to men.

Ilshat – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person

These comparisons were made among individuals who had been diagnosed with chronic depression as well as those who had not.

In addition to FEDORA, the researchers also analyzed differences among patients who received a therapeutic ketamine prescription for their depression.

They found that female patients who were known to suffer from chronic depression had the highest levels of FEDORA. Interestingly, they also found lower levels of FEDORA among women who had been prescribed ketamine.

The researchers then tested FEDORA levels in living patients via blood samples and discovered that women suffering from depression had higher levels than women not suffering from depression, as well as all men in general.

Finally, the team decided to genetically program test mice to replicate these findings. More specifically, they programmed the mice to express higher than normal levels of lncRNA. Then, they found that when the mice expressed more lncRNA, this led to greater levels of FEDORA and more symptoms of depression and anxiety. But, this was only true among the female mice.

So now, the researchers’ findings suggest that the gap present in depression diagnoses is actually more likely due to gender differences as opposed to changes in hormone levels.

To read the study’s complete findings, which have since been published in Science Advances, visit the link here.

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Katharina Buczek graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Digital Arts. Specializing ... More about Katharina Buczek

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