The association of serotonin transporter gene polymorphism and geriatric depression: A meta-analysis

•5-HTTLPR polymorphism is associated with the risk of geriatric depression.•The susceptibility to geriatric depression is higher for S carrier vs L/L genotype.•Subjects with S/S genotype have a higher risk for geriatric depression.

Serotonin-transporter-linked promoter region (5-HTTLPR) polymorphism is the genetic variant coding for the serotonin transporter and may play an important role in the etiology of depression. However, genetic studies examining the relationship between 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and geriatric depression have produced inconsistent results. We conducted a meta-analysis to compare the frequency of 5-HTTLPR variants in geriatric depression cases and non-depressed controls in the elderly. A total of 5 studies involving 579 geriatric cases and 1372 non-depressed controls met the inclusion criteria. With strong statistical power, pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for genotypic analyses (S carrier versus L/L, S/S versus L/L) were provided. The results of our analysis indicate statistically significant association between S allele and the risk of geriatric depression (OR ScarriervsS/S = 1.29, 95% CI 1.01–1.66; OR S/SvsL/L = 1.68, 95% CI 1.20–2.35). Our findings suggest that 5-HTTLPR polymorphism is of importance in the development of geriatric depression.