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Stability of Genetic and Environmental Contributions to Anxiety Symptoms in Older Adulthood

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Abstract

Anxiety symptoms are common in later life and are associated with diverse adverse health outcomes. Little is known about how genetic and environmental influences on anxiety symptoms might vary across older adulthood. The purpose of this study was to explore change and stability of contributions to anxiety symptoms across older adulthood. We examined data from the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging (SATSA). Between the years 1984 and 2010, 2021 participants (including 753 complete twin pairs) completed up to seven assessments containing two measures of anxiety symptoms. Longitudinal genetic simplex models were fit to examine the stability and change in genetic and environmental influences. Amplification of genetic factors at ages 75–80 suggests tentative new genetic contributions to anxiety symptoms. These findings suggest that the heritability of anxiety symptoms may increase later in life. Physiological factors associated with aging are discussed as potential factors explaining this increase.

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Acknowledgments

SATSA was supported by Grants R01 AG04563, R01 AG10175, the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Successful Aging, the Swedish Council For Working Life and Social Research (FAS) (97:0147:1B, 2009-0795) and Swedish Research Council (825-2007-7460, 825-2009-6141). Dr. Petkus was partially supported by a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) fellowship awarded by the National Institute on Aging (1F31AG042218-01).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, 3620 South McClintock Ave., SGM 522, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-1061, USA

    Andrew J. Petkus & Margaret Gatz

  2. Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77, Stockholm, Sweden

    Margaret Gatz

  3. Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA

    Chandra A. Reynolds

  4. Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, 92093-0603, USA

    William S. Kremen & Julie Loebach Wetherell

  5. VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, San Diego, CA, 92093-0603, USA

    William S. Kremen

  6. VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, 92093-0603, USA

    Julie Loebach Wetherell

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  1. Andrew J. Petkus
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  2. Margaret Gatz
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  3. Chandra A. Reynolds
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  4. William S. Kremen
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  5. Julie Loebach Wetherell
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Correspondence to Andrew J. Petkus.

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The authors have no conflict of interest.

Human Rights and Informed Consent

Participants provided written informed consent to participate in the study. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at the Karolinksa Institutet and the University of Southern California. All participants were treated in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

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Edited by Michael Lyons

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Petkus, A.J., Gatz, M., Reynolds, C.A. et al. Stability of Genetic and Environmental Contributions to Anxiety Symptoms in Older Adulthood. Behav Genet 46, 492–505 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-015-9772-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-015-9772-0

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