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Low attention control may be genetic risk factor for anxiety

Recent findings indicated low attention control in early adolescence was associated with phenotypic and genetic risk for four different anxiety disorders.

“Anxiety that emerges in childhood and adolescence contributes to the impairment of current and future psychological functioning, with most adults diagnosed with anxiety or mood disorders reporting the presence of anxiety symptoms earlier in childhood,” Jeffrey R. Gagne, PhD, of the University of Texas at Arlington, and colleagues wrote. “Therefore, the identification of developmental risk factors for anxiety can contribute to appropriate prediction and intervention strategies.”

Jeffrey R. Gagne

Researchers assessed etiology of attentional control and four anxiety symptom types — generalized, obsessive-compulsive, separation, and social — among 446 twin pairs with a mean age of 13.6 years. Anxiety and attentional control were reported by participants and their primary caregivers.

Genetic factors contributed to 55% of the variance in attention control and between 43% and 58% of variance in anxiety.

Negative phenotypic associations between attention control and anxiety indicated an association between lower attention control and increased risk for all four anxiety categories.

Genetic correlations between attention control and anxiety phenotypes ranged from –0.36 to –0.47. Further, researchers found evidence of nonshared environmental covariance between attention control and generalized and separation anxiety.

“Appropriate and earlier intervention could really assist these patients and improve their outlooks on the long-term,” Gagne said in a press release. “Having a visible marker like low attention control, which usually appears and can be identified before anxiety, could improve the treatment of these disorders.” – by Amanda Oldt

Disclosure: Gagne reports receiving support from two training grants T32-MH18931 and T32-MH75880. Please see the full study for a list of all authors’ relevant financial disclosures.