Author Interviews, JAMA, Mental Health Research / 17.06.2014
Genetic Structures Underlying Depression and Anxiety During Development
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Monika Waszczuk
1+3 PhD Student
MRC SGDP Research Centre
Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London
DeCrespigny Park London UK
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Answer: Little is known about the genetic influences on the relationship between depression and anxiety disorders across development. We used two population-based prospective longitudinal twin and sibling studies to investigate phenotypic associations between the symptoms of these disorders, and tested genetic structures underlying these symptoms across three developmental stages: childhood, adolescence and early adulthood.
We found that depression and anxiety disorder symptoms are largely distinct in childhood and are influenced by largely independent genetic factors. Depression and anxiety symptoms become more associated and shared most of their genetic etiology from adolescence. An overarching internalizing genetic factor influencing depression and all anxiety subscales emerged in early adulthood. These results provide preliminary evidence for different phenotypic and genetic structures of internalizing disorder symptoms in childhood, adolescence and young adulthood, with depression and anxiety becoming more associated from adolescence.
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