Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-5xszh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-27T12:15:29.636Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Stability in symptoms of anxiety and depression as a function of genotype and environment: a longitudinal twin study from ages 3 to 63 years

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 September 2014

M. G. Nivard*
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
C. V. Dolan
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands Department of Psychological Methods, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
K. S. Kendler
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychiatry and Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, USA
K.-J. Kan
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands
G. Willemsen
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
C. E. M. van Beijsterveldt
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
R. J. L. Lindauer
Affiliation:
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Amsterdam Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
J. H. D. A. van Beek
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
L. M. Geels
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
M. Bartels
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
C. M. Middeldorp
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, GGZ inGeest/VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
D. I. Boomsma
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
*
*Address for correspondence: M. G. Nivard, Department of Biological Psychology, Van der Boechorststraat 1, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands. (Email: m.g.nivard@vu.nl)

Abstract

Background.

The influence of genetic factors on major depressive disorder is lower than on other psychiatric disorders. Heritability estimates mainly derive from cross-sectional studies, and knowledge on the longitudinal aetiology of symptoms of anxiety and depression (SxAnxDep) across the lifespan is limited. We aimed to assess phenotypic, genetic and environmental stability in SxAnxDep between ages 3 and 63 years.

Method.

We used a cohort-sequential design combining data from 49 524 twins followed from birth to age ⩾20 years, and from adolescence into adulthood. SxAnxDep were assessed repeatedly with a maximum of eight assessments over a 25-year period. Data were ordered in 30 age groups and analysed with longitudinal genetic models.

Results.

Over age, there was a significant increase during adolescence in mean scores with sex differences (women>men) emerging. Heritability was high in childhood and decreased to 30–40% during adulthood. This decrease in heritability was due to an increase in environmental variance. Phenotypic stability was moderate in children (correlations across ages ~0.5) and high in adolescents (r = 0.6), young adults (r = 0.7), and adults (r = 0.8). Longitudinal stability was mostly attributable to genetic factors. During childhood and adolescence there was also significant genetic innovation, which was absent in adults. Environmental effects contributed to short-term stability.

Conclusions.

The substantial stability in SxAnxDep is mainly due to genetic effects. The importance of environmental effects increases with age and explains the relatively low heritability of depression in adults. The environmental effects are transient, but the contribution to stability increases with age.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Achenbach, TM (1990). The Young Adult Self Report. University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry: Burlington, VT.Google Scholar
Achenbach, TM, Rescorla, LA (2000). Manual for the ASEBA Preschool – Forms and Profiles. University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth and Families: Burlington, VT.Google Scholar
Achenbach, TM, Rescorla, LA (2001). Manual for the ASEBA School Age – Forms and Profiles. University of Vermont, Research Center for children, Youth and Families: Burlington, VT.Google Scholar
Achenbach, TM, Rescorla, LA (2003). Manual for the ASEBA Adult – Forms and Profiles. University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth and Families: Burlington, VT.Google Scholar
Bartels, M, van Beijsterveldt, CEM, Derks, EM, Stroet, TM, Polderman, TJ, Hudziak, JJ, Boomsma, DI (2007). Young Netherlands Twin Register (Y-NTR): a longitudinal multiple informant study of problem behavior. Twin Research and Human Genetics 10, 311.Google Scholar
Beesdo-Baum, K, Knappe, S (2012). Developmental epidemiology of anxiety disorders. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America 21, 457478.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bird, HR, Gould, MS, Rubio-Stiptec, MARI, Staghezza, BM, Canino, GLOR (1991). Screening for childhood psychopathology in the community using the child behavior checklist. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 30, 116123.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blakemore, SJ (2008). The social brain in adolescence. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 267277.Google Scholar
Boomsma, DI, Molenaar, PCM (1987). The genetic analysis of repeated measures. 1. Simplex models. Behavior Genetics 17, 111123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boomsma, DI, van Beijsterveldt, CEM, Bartels, M, Hudziak, JJ (2008). Genetic and environmental influences on anxious/depression: a longitudinal study in 3 to 12 year old children. In Genetic and Environmental Influences on Developmental Psychopathology and Wellness (ed. Hudziak, J. J.), pp. 161190. American Psychiatric Association: Washington.Google Scholar
Collins, FS (2004). The case for a US prospective cohort study of genes and environment. Nature 429, 475477.Google Scholar
Costello, EJ, Mustillo, S, Erkanli, A, Keeler, G, Angold, A (2003). Prevalence and development of psychiatric disorders in childhood and adolescence. Archives of General Psychiatry 60, 837844.Google Scholar
Dolan, CV, de Kort, JM, van Beijsterveldt, CEM, Bartels, M, Boomsma, DI (2014). GE Covariance through phenotype to environment transmission: an assessment in longitudinal twin data. Behavior Genetics 44, 240253.Google Scholar
Ferdinand, RF, van der Ende, J, Verhulst, FC (2004). Parent-adolescent disagreement regarding psychopathology in adolescents from the general population as a risk factor for adverse outcome. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 113, 198206.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fonseca-Pedrero, E, Sierra-Baigrie, S, Lemos-Giráldez, S, Paino, M, Muñiz, J (2012). Dimensional structure and measurement invariance of the Youth Self-Report across gender and age. Journal of Adolescent Health 50, 148153.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Franz, CE, Lyons, MJ, O'Brien, R, Panizzon, MS, Kim, K, Bhat, R, Grant, MD, Toomey, R, Eisen, S, Xian, H, Kremen, WS (2011). A 35-year longitudinal assessment of cognition and midlife depression symptoms: the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 19, 559570.Google Scholar
Gillespie, NA, Kirk, KM, Evans, DM, Heath, AC, Hickie, IB, Martin, NG (2004). Do the genetic or environmental determinants of anxiety and depression change with age? A longitudinal study of Australian twins. Twin Research 7, 3953.Google Scholar
Hofstra, MB, van der Ende, J, Verhulst, FC (2000). Continuity and change of psychopathology from childhood into adulthood: a 14-year follow-up study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 39, 850858.Google Scholar
Johnson, W, McGue, M, Gaist, D, Vaupel, JW, Christensen, K (2002). Frequency and heritability of depression symptomatology in the second half of life: evidence from Danish twins over 45. Psychological Medicine 32, 11751185.Google Scholar
Kan, KJ, Dolan, CV, Nivard, MG, Middeldorp, CM, van Beijsterveldt, CEM, Willemsen, G, Boomsma, DI (2013). Genetic and Environmental Stability in Attention Problems Across the Lifespan: Evidence From the Netherlands Twin Register. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 52, 1225.Google Scholar
Kendler, KS, Eaves, LJ, Loken, EK, Pedersen, NL, Middeldorp, CM, Reynolds, C, Boomsma, DI, Lichtenstein, P, Silberg, J, Gardner, CO (2011). The impact of environmental experiences on symptoms of anxiety and depression across the life span. Psychological Science 22, 13431352.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendler, KS, Gardner, CO, Annas, P, Lichtenstein, P (2008 a). The development of fears from early adolesence to young adulthood: a multivariate study. Psychological Medicine 38, 17591769.Google Scholar
Kendler, KS, Gardner, CO, Annas, P, Neale, MC, Eaves, LJ, Lichtenstein, P (2008 b). A longitudinal twin study of fears from middle childhood to early adulthood: evidence for a developmentally dynamic genome. Archives of General Psychiatry 65, 421429.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendler, KS, Gardner, CO, Lichtenstein, P (2008 c). A developmental twin study of symptoms of anxiety and depression: evidence for genetic innovation and attenuation. Psychological Medicine 38, 15671575.Google Scholar
Kendler, KS, Gatz, M, Gardner, CO, Pedersen, NL (2006). A Swedish national twin study of lifetime major depression. American Journal of Psychiatry 163, 109114.Google Scholar
Kendler, KS, Karkowski, LM, Prescott, CA (1998). Stressful life events and major depression: risk period, long-term contextual threat, and diagnostic specificity. Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases 186, 661669.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Markon, KE, Chmielewski, M, Miller, CJ (2011). The reliability and validity of discrete and continuous measures of psychopathology: a quantitative review. Psychological Bulletin 137, 856879.Google Scholar
Middeldorp, CM, Birley, AJ, Cath, DC, Gillespie, NA, Willemsen, G, Statham, DJ, de Geus, EJ, Andrews, JG, Van Dyck, R, Beem, AL, Sullivan, PF, Martin, NG, Boomsma, DI (2005). Familial clustering of major depression and anxiety disorders in Australian and Dutch twins and siblings. Twin Research and Human. Genetics 8, 609615.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Middeldorp, CM, Cath, DC, Beem, AL, Willemsen, G, Boomsma, DI (2008). Life events, anxious depression and personality: a prospective and genetic study. Psychological Medicine 38, 15571565.Google Scholar
Neale, MC, Boker, SM, Xie, G, Maes, HH (2006). Mx: Statistical Modeling. Department of Psychiatry, Medical College of Virginia: Richmond, VA.Google Scholar
Ormel, J, Oldehinkel, T, Brilman, E, van den Brink, W (1993). Outcome of depression and anxiety in primary care. A three-wave 3 1/2-year study of psychopathology and disability. Archives of General Psychiatry 50, 759766.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rapee, RM, Schniering, CA, Hudson, JL (2009). Anxiety disorders during childhood and adolescence: origins and treatment. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology 5, 311341.Google Scholar
Rice, F (2009). The genetics of depression in childhood and adolescence. Current Psychiatry Reports 11, 167173.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rice, F, Thapar, A (2009). Depression and anxiety in childhood and adolescence: developmental pathways, genes and environment. In Handbook of Behavior Genetics (ed. Kim, Y. K.), pp. 377394. Springer: New York.Google Scholar
Richards, D (2011). Prevalence and clinical course of depression: a review. Clinical Psychology Review 31, 11171125.Google Scholar
Sakolsky, DJ, McCracken, JT, Nurmi, EL (2012). Genetics of pediatric anxiety disorders. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America 21, 479500.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sullivan, PF, Neale, MC, Kendler, KS (2000). Genetic epidemiology of major depression: review and meta-analysis. American Journal of Psychiatry 157, 15521562.Google Scholar
Trzaskowski, M, Zavos, HM, Haworth, CM, Plomin, R, Eley, TC (2012). Stable genetic influence on anxiety-related behaviours across middle childhood. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 40, 8594.Google Scholar
van Beijsterveldt, CEM, Groen-Blokhuis, M, Hottenga, JJ, Franić, S, Hudziak, JJ, Lamb, D, Huppertz, C, de Zeeuw, E, Nivard, MG, Schutte, N, Swagerman, S, Glasner, T, van Fulpen, M, Brouwer, C, Stroet, T, Nowotny, D, Ehli, EA, Davies, GE, Scheet, P, Orlebeke, JF, Kan, KJ, Smit, DJA, Dolan, CV, Middeldorp, CM, de Geus, EJ, Bartels, M, Boomsma, DI (2013). The Young Netherlands Twin Register (YNTR): longitudinal twin and family studies in over 70,000 children. Twin Research and Human Genetics 16, 252267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van Dongen, J, Slagboom, EP, Draisma, HHM, Martin, NG, Boomsma, DI (2012). The continuing value of twin studies in the omics era. Nature Reviews Genetics 13, 640653.Google Scholar
Willemsen, G, Vink, JM, Abdellaoui, A, den Braber, A, van Beek, JHDA, Draisma, HHM, van Dongen, J, van ’t Ent, D, Geels, LM, van Lien, R, Ligthart, L, Kattenberg, M, Mbarek, H, de Moor, MHM, Neijts, M, Pool, R, Stroo, N, Kluft, C, Suchiman, HE, Slagboom, PE, de Geus, EJC, Boomsma, DI (2013). The adult Netherlands twin register: twenty-five years of survey and biological data collection. Twin Research and Human Genetics 16, 271281.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Nivard Supplementary Material

Supplementary Material

Download Nivard Supplementary Material(File)
File 2.9 MB