Phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) tasting, genetics, and depression

Twenty-three (23) females who satisfied the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) DSM-III criteria for Major Depression were assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRS), the genetically based phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) taste test, and each subject provided a family history of depression. Results show that, compared with PTC nontasters, the tasters suffered deeper depressions, longer periods of sadness, symptoms that resembled “endogenous depression,” and the tasters reported more family members afflicted with depression. The PTC taste test accounted for 20% of the variance on the BDI and on the HRS.