Depression vulnerability, cigarette smoking, and the serotonin transporter gene

People with current or past depression are more likely to have been smokers at some point in their lives. Smokers with depression histories are also less likely to quit. Attempts to understand this relationship are important insofar as they can help treatment efficacy for this group of smokers. Prior research indicates that different genetic variations affect the relationship between smoking and neuroticism. This study examined whether people with a short serotonin transporter genotype would likewise show a stronger relationship between depression vulnerability and smoking behavior than those with the long genotype. Although depression vulnerability was associated with smoking behaviors, genotype did not significantly affect this relationship. Discussion centered on possible reasons for varying results across conceptually similar studies.