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Genetic Epidemiology of Anxiety Disorders

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Book cover Anxiety and Anxiolytic Drugs

Part of the book series: Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology ((HEP,volume 169))

Abstract

This chapter reviews the genetic epidemiology of the major subtypes of anxiety disorders including panic disorder, phobic disorders, generalized anxiety disorder, and obsessive—compulsive disorder. Controlled family studies reveal that all of these anxiety subtypes are familial, and twin studies suggest that the familial aggregation is attributable in part to genetic factors. Panic disorder and, its spectrum have the strongest magnitude of familial clustering and genetic underpinnings. Studies of offspring of parents with anxiety disorders an increased risk of mood and anxiety disorders, but there is far less specificity of the manifestations of anxiety in children and young adolescents. Although there has been a plethora of studies designed to identify genes underlying these conditions, to date, no specific genetic loci have been identified and replicated in independent samples.

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  1. Section on Developmental Genetic Epidemiology, Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program, National Institute of Mental Health/NIH, Building 35, Room 1A201, 35 Convent Drive, MSC 3720, 20892-3720, Bethesda, MD, USA

    K. R. Merikangas

  2. Section on Developmental Genetic Epidemiology, Mood and Anxiety Disorder Program, National Institute of Mental Health/NIH, Department of Health and Human Services, Building 35, Room 1A112, 35 Convent Drive, MSC 3720, Bethesda, MD, 20892-3720, USA

    N. C. P. Low

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  1. Max-Planck-Institut für Psychiatrie, Kraepelinstr. 10, 80804, München, Germany

    Florian Holsboer

  2. Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité — Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Schuhmannstr. 20/21, 10117, Berlin, Germany

    Andreas Ströhle

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Merikangas, K.R., Low, N.C.P. (2005). Genetic Epidemiology of Anxiety Disorders. In: Holsboer, F., Ströhle, A. (eds) Anxiety and Anxiolytic Drugs. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, vol 169. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-28082-0_6

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