Funk Julia, Morneau-Vaillancourt Geneviève, Palaiologou Elisavet, Eley Thalia C
Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Department of Psychology, https://ror.org/05591te55LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
Psychol Med. 2025 Jun 30;55:e180. doi: 10.1017/S0033291725100640.
Despite the high prevalence of generalized anxiety among young adults, studies investigating factors that shape the course of these symptoms during the twenties are scarce. In addition, generalized anxiety can manifest in different ways, but it is unclear whether symptoms cluster under distinct dimensions in this age group. The current study addressed these gaps using data from the Twins Early Development Study. First, we examined genetic and environmental contributions to continuity and change in generalized anxiety symptoms in young adulthood and the heritability of a latent factor reflecting stability over this period. Next, to explore potential dimensions of generalized anxiety, we investigated the factorial structure of symptoms as well as etiological influences underpinning the different factors.
The sample comprised 6,429 twin pairs. Generalized anxiety was assessed at six waves (age 23-26 years).
Genetic factors largely accounted for continuity and environmental factors for change in symptom severity. Furthermore, the heritability of stable generalized anxiety (60%) was substantially higher than that at any single time point (39-46%). Regarding the factorial structure of symptoms, we found evidence of two dimensions: worry-avoidance and somatic-distress symptoms. Genetic correlations ( = 0.77-0.91) between the two dimensions were higher than environmental correlations ( = 0.26-0.65).
The current findings suggest that extracting temporal stability provides the strongest opportunity to identify genetic influences on generalized anxiety. Moreover, the results indicate that differences between generalized anxiety dimensions are more likely attributable to environmental than genetic effects.
尽管青年人群中广泛性焦虑症的患病率很高，但针对20多岁人群中影响这些症状发展过程的因素进行研究的却很少。此外，广泛性焦虑症可以有不同的表现形式，但在这个年龄组中，症状是否会聚集在不同维度下尚不清楚。本研究利用双胞胎早期发育研究的数据填补了这些空白。首先，我们研究了遗传和环境因素对青年期广泛性焦虑症状连续性和变化的影响，以及反映这一时期稳定性的潜在因素的遗传性。接下来，为了探索广泛性焦虑的潜在维度，我们研究了症状的因子结构以及不同因素背后的病因学影响。
样本包括6429对双胞胎。在六个时间点（23 - 26岁）对广泛性焦虑进行评估。
遗传因素在很大程度上解释了症状的连续性，而环境因素则导致症状严重程度的变化。此外，稳定型广泛性焦虑的遗传性（60%）显著高于任何单个时间点（39 - 46%）。关于症状的因子结构，我们发现有两个维度的证据：担忧回避和躯体痛苦症状。两个维度之间的遗传相关性（= 0.77 - 0.91）高于环境相关性（= 0.26 - 0.65）。
目前的研究结果表明，提取时间稳定性为识别遗传因素对广泛性焦虑的影响提供了最强有力的机会。此外，结果表明广泛性焦虑维度之间的差异更可能归因于环境而非遗传效应。
