Overview
- Researchers led by QIMR Berghofer analyzed five international cohorts, including about 130,000 women and 65,000 men with major depression, alongside large control groups.
- About 7,000 DNA variants were associated with depression in both sexes, with roughly 6,000 additional variants appearing female-specific, yielding around 13,000 linked markers in women versus about 7,000 in men.
- Genetic signals tied to depression showed stronger overlap with metabolic traits in females, which may relate to symptom patterns such as weight change and daytime sleepiness.
- The team has publicly released summary results to enable independent analysis, replication, and exploration of environmental interactions and more diverse populations.
- Authors emphasize limitations, including a female–male case imbalance and European-only ancestry, and note that replication and broader sampling are needed before clinical application.