Modification of the effect of life events on risk of depression by a polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene promoter (5-HTTLPR) has been reported in child, adolescent, adult and elderly populations. Replication attempted on data collected from 1421 individuals aged 65 and over from a French community study provided no evidence of a similar modifying effect. In the only analysis known to the authors to be carried out in an exclusively elderly, European population, this null finding remained consistent after restriction of analysis to prevalent or incident cases.