Supplementary Material for: The Impact of Adverse Life Events on Clinical Features and Interaction with Gene Variants in Mood Disorder Patients

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Adverse life events are precipitating and maintenance factors for mood and anxiety disorders. However, the impact of such events on clinical features and treatment response is still unclear. <b><i>Sampling and Methods:</i></b> The aim of this study was to investigate whether specific adverse events (early parental loss and physical abuse) influence clinical features in a sample of 1,336 mood disorder patients, and whether genetic parameters interact with adverse events to influence treatment outcomes in a subsample of 252 subjects. Participants were collected in the context of a European multicenter study and treated with antidepressants at adequate doses for at least 4 weeks. We focused on two genes (BDNF and CREB1) due to prior evidence of association with treatment outcomes in the same sample. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Patients with a history of physical abuse had higher suicidal risk (including history of attempts), comorbid panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder and alcohol dependence compared to non-abused patients. Experience of early parental loss was a less detrimental type of life stressor. Treatment response was not affected by adverse events. No gene-environment interaction was found with genetic variations, using a corrected significance level. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> A limitation of the present study is that the subsample is too small for detecting gene-environment interactions. The clinical message of our findings is that mood disorder patients with a history of physical abuse showed a worse clinical profile, characterized by higher comorbid Axis I psychopathology and increased suicidal behavior.