There are many studies done trying to find answers for many complicated questions. In the mental health field, mood disorders are the most common. Mood disorders consist of major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, and many more. MDD is one of the most common depressive mood disorders. About three to five percent of people experience this disorder at some point in their lives and the lifetime risk is about 17 percent (Anxiety and Depression Association of America). The most common ages that this disorder applies to are from the ages 13 and beyond (“Major Depression”). MDD has many symptoms that can complicate one’s lives. In order to have MDD, one must have five or more of these symptoms for a two-week
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It was found that those who have MDD have shorter telomere length (Gotlib, I. H., Lemoult, J., Colich, N. L., Foland-ross, L. C., Hallmayer, J., Joormann, J., Wolkowitz, O. M.). Telomeres are described as nucleoprotein structures that protect the ends of our DNA and the shorter they are, the more likely a person’s DNA is to be damaged which causes one to age faster and develop diseases (Gotlib, I. H., Lemoult, J., Colich, N. L., Foland-ross, L. C., Hallmayer, J., Joormann, J., Wolkowitz, O. M.). In this study, the researches sought out to gather information of daughters of mothers with major depressive disorder. They wanted to see if that there is a specific genetic factor correlated with the disorder. The study demonstrated two findings: 1) the daughters of the mothers with recurrent MDD have shorter telomere lengths than those who do not and 2) the shorter telomere length that one has, the greater cortisol level one has (Gotlib, I. H., Lemoult, J., Colich, N. L., Foland-ross, L. C., Hallmayer, J., Joormann, J., Wolkowitz, O. M.) These findings suggest many things. It could imply that healthy girls are at risk of developing MDD in their teenage years, where most develop it. This also can imply that at an older age, specific medical illnesses that are related to MDD can occur such as cardiovascular disease, dementia, diabetes, and much more (Gotlib, I. H., Lemoult, J., Colich, N. L., Foland-ross, L. C., Hallmayer, J., Joormann, J., Wolkowitz, O.
It was found that those who have MDD have shorter telomere length (Gotlib, I. H., Lemoult, J., Colich, N. L., Foland-ross, L. C., Hallmayer, J., Joormann, J., Wolkowitz, O. M.). Telomeres are described as nucleoprotein structures that protect the ends of our DNA and the shorter they are, the more likely a person’s DNA is to be damaged which causes one to age faster and develop diseases (Gotlib, I. H., Lemoult, J., Colich, N. L., Foland-ross, L. C., Hallmayer, J., Joormann, J., Wolkowitz, O. M.). In this study, the researches sought out to gather information of daughters of mothers with major depressive disorder. They wanted to see if that there is a specific genetic factor correlated with the disorder. The study demonstrated two findings: 1) the daughters of the mothers with recurrent MDD have shorter telomere lengths than those who do not and 2) the shorter telomere length that one has, the greater cortisol level one has (Gotlib, I. H., Lemoult, J., Colich, N. L., Foland-ross, L. C., Hallmayer, J., Joormann, J., Wolkowitz, O. M.) These findings suggest many things. It could imply that healthy girls are at risk of developing MDD in their teenage years, where most develop it. This also can imply that at an older age, specific medical illnesses that are related to MDD can occur such as cardiovascular disease, dementia, diabetes, and much more (Gotlib, I. H., Lemoult, J., Colich, N. L., Foland-ross, L. C., Hallmayer, J., Joormann, J., Wolkowitz, O.