Aintablian, H. K., Melkonian, C., Galoustian, N., Markarian, B., Izabel, I., Vardapetyan, M., … & Aintablian, N. (2018). Direct Ancestry to a Genocide Survivor has Transgenerational Effects on Mental Health; A Case of the Armenian Population. MOJ Public Health, 7(4), 233-239.

Abstract

Background and objectives: Due to thousands of years of cultural and geographic isolation, the Armenian population has one of the highest ratios of genetic continuity, making them an ideal population to study transgenerational variance. Surrounding 1915, the Armenian population underwent near annihilation with over 1.5 million people murdered by the Ottoman Turks. Today, the Armenian population has

an uncharacteristically high level of adolescent and adult depression. Studies investigating the Jewish population show significantly increased anxiety and depression risk in direct descendants of Holocaust survivors. Whether there are transgenerational effects on mental health due to the genocide, and whether these effects may explain the predominance of disparities in the Armenians has been understudied and is examined in this publication.

Methods: A 104-point mental-health questionnaire was assembled, including the General Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionairre-9 (PHQ-9), and implemented to 268 ancestrally Armenian participants. Subjects were split into “direct familial exposure” and “non-direct familial exposure” to genocide groups.

Results: Respondents with any direct familial exposure had average increases of 2.06 and 1.21 points on PHQ-9 and GAD-7 surveys, respectively, compared to the control non-direct familial exposure group. Those with 4 or more genocide survivors had average increases of 2.80 and 2.13 points on PHQ-9 and GAD-7 surveys, respectively, compared to the control. Increases in diagnosed mental health illness, such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD, and their associated prescribed mental health medications were also noted in the test population.

Conclusions: Our results suggest an inheritance of genocide-related risk of depression and anxiety may be found in Armenian Genocide descendants, similar to the Jewish population whose forbearers endured the Holocaust.

Volume 7 Issue 4 – 2018

Aintablian HK,1 Markarian B,2 Irmak I,2 Galoustian N,3 Melkonian C,2 Vardapetyan M4, Tigranyan S,5 Kochkarian Y,6 Keshishian V,7 Aintablian N4
1University of Arizona – College of Medicine, USA
2University of California, USA
3University of California, USA
4Glendale Community College, USA
5Alliant International University, USA
6Western University of Health Sciences, USA
7University of California, USA

Correspondence: Aintablian HK, University of Arizona – College of Medicine, USA (Phoenix, AZ, USA) 550 E Van Buren St, Phoenix, AZ 85004, Email Haig@Aintablian.com

Received: July 09, 2017 | Published: August 27, 2018

Introduction

The first mention of the Armenian people dates back to the 6th century BC, with most documented history occurring near and after 2000BC.1 Historically, the Armenians have been a unique population with their own developed language and alphabet, not rooted in either Greek or Latin. Genetically, the Armenians are one of the most continuous populations in the world today. Their geographic, religious, and societal isolation has resulted in a genetic isolation, due to lack of out breeding with populations other than their own since the Bronze Age.2 Geopolitically, the Armenians have remained in a relatively unstable region. Historically, it was the first nation to adopt Christianity as its national religion. Due to this, the Armenians have suffered multiple conflicts with bordering non-Christian nations; notably, the Armenian Genocide (occurring between 1914-1923), being one of the most damaging to the entirety of the population. This genocide was the first genocide of the twentieth century. Scholars and historians estimate that approximately 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, a population roughly equal to half of the population of Armenia today.3,4 Events such as mass murder, rape, and torture were well documented during the years the genocide occurred, with the historic date of commemoration held on April 24th 1915. Due to the massive loss of life, land, and culture from the Armenian Genocide, Armenia underwent many economic and social reforms, shaking the once iron-clad stability of a civilization that dated to before the Bronze Age.4-7 Today, many different branches of Armenians exist across the globe, displaced primarily due to the effects of the Armenian Genocide. The three largest branches comprise of the Iranian Armenians, Syrian/Lebanese Armenians, and Armenians from Armenian, each with their own distinct dialect. The Iranian Armenians were ideally located in Iran during the Armenian Genocide, and had avoided much of the onslaught that occurred; however they too have had many unique challenges of their own. A majority of the Armenian population is struggling with an epidemic of depression amongst its population, much of which is thought to be cast in place by the geopolitical, social, and historical damage caused by the Armenian Genocide. Little has been done to see if this elevated risk of depression may be genetic in nature.8-11