Are you born depressed?

Some people are genetically programmed to sink when things go wrong, while others shrug off disasters, scientists said yesterday.

They have found a gene which determines whether or not people get depressed by traumatic events.

Their study is unusual in that it combines both 'nature' and 'nurture' - physical and environmental factors. It is the first to reveal a direct genetic link between stressful events and the onset of clinical depression.

The study focused on two forms of a gene called 5-HTT which regulates brain 'mood' chemical serotonin.

The gene comes in short and long versions and people inherit two copies of it, one from each parent.

How it affects depression is unclear but it was found the short type left people vulnerable to stress, while the long version offered protection.

In the study, 43 per cent of those with two short versions were brought down by stressful experiences-Only 17 per cent of those with two long versions of the gene became depressed.

Researcher Prof Terrie Moffitt, of King's College London, told the journal Science that further research could lead to a depression vulnerability test.

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