Lindon J. Eaves

TL;DR: Data from the Virginia 30,000, including twins and their parents, siblings, spouses, and children, were analyzed using a structural equation model (Stealth) and no evidence was found for a special MZ twin environment, thereby supporting the equal environment assumption.

TL;DR: This meta-analysis yielded no evidence that the serotonin transporter genotype alone or in interaction with stressful life events is associated with an elevated risk of depression in men alone, women alone, or in both sexes combined.

TL;DR: Merikangas et al. as discussed by the authors showed that most common genetic risks, at least when studied individually, are modest in magnitude, with relative risks in the range of 1.3 or less.

TL;DR: In this article, a study was conducted to clarify how genetic liability and stressful life events interact in the etiology of major depression and found that genetic factors influence the risk of onset of depression in part by altering the sensitivity of individuals to the depression-inducing effect of stressful events, including death of a close relative, assault, serious marital problems and divorce/breakup.

TL;DR: The results suggest that the association between smoking andMD in women is not a causal one but arises largely from familial factors, which are probably genetic, that predispose to both smoking and MD.