Link Between Paraoxonase Polymorphism and Depression Not Specific to Veterans and Sheep Dippers

An association between the paraoxonase Q192R polymorphism and depressive symptoms has previously been reported in Gulf War veterans and sheep dippers, leading to the assumption that exposure to a toxin particular to those two occupations could produce depressive symptoms in individuals with Q192R polymorphism. However, a new study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health linked the polymorphism to depression in 3,266 British women over 60, the vast majority of whom were neither veterans nor sheep dippers. Women with the polymorphism were 1.22 times as likely to have had a prior diagnosis of depression. The authors suggest that some toxin encountered by the general population may be involved. http://jech.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/61/1/85