Genetic factors contribute significantly to interindividual differences in the susceptibility to stress-related disorders. As stress can also be conceptualized as environmental exposure, controlled gene–environment interaction (GxE) studies with an in-depth phenotyping may help to unravel mechanisms underlying the interplay between genetic factors and stress. In a prospective-longitudinal quasi-experimental study, we investigated whether polygenic scores (PGS) for depression (DEP-PGS) and neuroticism (NEU-PGS), respectively, were associated with responses to chronic stress in daily life. We examined law students (n = 432) over 13 months. Participants in the stress group experienced a long-lasting stress phase, namely the preparation for the first state examination for law students. The control group consisted of law students without particular stress exposure. In the present manuscript, we analyzed perceived stress levels assessed at high frequency and in an ecologically valid manner by ambulatory assessments as well as depression symptoms and two parameters of the cortisol awakening response. The latter was only assessed in a subsample (n = 196). No associations between the DEP-PGS and stress-related variables were found. However, for the NEU-PGS we found a significant GxE effect. Only in individuals experiencing academic stress a higher PGS for neuroticism predicted stronger increases of perceived stress levels until the exam. At baseline, a higher NEU-PGS was associated with higher perceived stress levels in both groups. Despite the small sample size, we provide preliminary evidence that the genetic disposition for neuroticism is associated with stress level increases in daily life during a long-lasting stress period.

中文翻译：

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抑郁症和神经质的多基因评分与长期压力期间日常生活中感知压力的关联

遗传因素对压力相关疾病的易感性存在显着的个体差异。由于压力也可以被概念化为环境暴露，因此具有深入表型分析的受控基因-环境相互作用（GxE）研究可能有助于揭示遗传因素与压力之间相互作用的潜在机制。在一项前瞻性纵向准实验研究中，我们调查了抑郁症（DEP-PGS）和神经质（NEU-PGS）的多基因评分（PGS）是否分别与日常生活中慢性压力的反应相关。我们对法律系学生 ( n  = 432) 进行了 13 个月的调查。压力组的参与者经历了一个长期的压力阶段，即为法学院学生的第一次国家考试做准备。对照组由没有受到特殊压力的法学院学生组成。在本手稿中，我们通过动态评估以生态有效的方式分析了高频评估的感知压力水平以及抑郁症状和皮质醇觉醒反应的两个参数。后者仅在子样本中进行评估（n  = 196）。未发现 DEP-PGS 与压力相关变量之间存在关联。然而，对于 NEU-PGS，我们发现了显着的 GxE 效应。只有在经历学业压力的个体中，较高的神经质 PGS 才能预测考试前感知压力水平的更强烈增加。在基线时，较高的 NEU-PGS 与两组较高的感知压力水平相关。尽管样本量很小，但我们提供了初步证据，表明神经质的遗传倾向与长期压力期间日常生活中压力水平的增加有关。