Genetics and anxiety are two words that I’ve become accustomed to hearing throughout most of my adult life.
I have had my fair share of struggles with stress, anxiety, obsessive thinking, and compulsive worry throughout most of my life.
I could (and likely will) write a book on all of my battles and triumph over anxiety.
One of the areas I became increasingly fascinated with over the years of researching anxiety is the relationships between genetics and environment as the primary cause.
How much does anxiety stem from genetics? How much stems from our environment (the world around us)?
On one blustery cold Sunday winter evening years back, I was sitting with my grandma at her house and watching TV. We’re having one of our patented Grandma-Grandson conversations that we always used to have (and boy do I miss them). One of the topics we would often discuss was our family history of worrying and overthinking. Ironically, most of our worries were over seemingly insignificant or even minor occurrences. It’s become a running joke within my family that if you’re a Coreno, you’re a worrier.
As we had our discussion, I brought up how I was struggling with specific worries in my life.
My grandma, half-grinning, looks over at me and says, “It’s in your genes!”
Laughing, I nodded my head in agreement.
Our family did have a long history of worry and anxiety-ridden individuals.
I was no different, yet that thought of my anxiety being genetic was interesting to me.
Was I doomed to repeat the same lifestyle of worrying my ancestors had?
Or could I make changes to combat this anxiety?
ENVIRONMENT PLAYS A ROLE IN ANXIETY
Long before studying the causes of anxiety, I knew from experience that genetics wasn’t the only trigger or indicator of anxiety.
Your environment, consisting of location, people around you, lifestyle, and other factors also plays a substantial role in determining your future anxiety levels.
When I was little, around six years old, I began having nervous ticks where I’d shake my hands feverishly back and forth to relieve myself from the feeling of impending doom. At the time, being so young, my mom and other family members had begun to notice. But they didn’t understand what it could be or what to do about it. I remember my mom asking me if I was okay, and although I felt okay, I was not.
CHILDHOOD TRAUMA
It wasn’t until much later in my life that I found out my parents were having substantial marital issues at that time (years before their divorce). They would often get into verbal battles while slamming doors in front of me. I look back at that time in my life and have a theory; I believe that being in a toxic environment triggered the anxiety genes already inside of me.
None of this is to throw my parents under the bus and accuse them of “causing” my anxiety. They didn’t know any better at the time, and they were struggling with their own issues.
But living with verbally or physically abusive parents can cause their children, especially younger ones, to experience trauma symptoms. Even if the abuse isn’t directed towards the child.
I would categorize my childhood trauma as “frightening,” since I recall some of the fights between my parents and can vividly remember how unsafe and unsure I felt because of it.
BULLYING
Another example of childhood trauma is bullying.
I moved multiple times as a little boy, attending three different schools in three different cities within five years. I also lived in many different homes, with the environments sometimes being unstable.
But it was the bullying at school that had a profound impact on my future battles with anxiety, worry, and depression.
I can recall both physical and emotional abuse as a kid at school.
Unfortunately, as the “new kid,” life ain’t always easy. Other kids, wanting to get a laugh and fit in with the ‘cool crowd,’ will pick on you in a multitude of ways. Luckily for me, I made friends relatively easy and quick. But that didn’t stop the bullying. Although it didn’t last years and wasn’t as traumatic as it is for some kids, the emotional damage had been done.
I also lost my best friend to suicide at age nineteen, which added to my anxious and worrying mindset.
Because of facing everything I did as a child and teen, my perceptions of life, specifically my growing fears, worsened.
What does this mean?
It means experience matters when it comes to your anxiety.
The life experiences you face as both a child and an adult play a role in how you perceive the world.
One area, such as lack of stability, especially in childhood, can lead to feelings of uneasiness and unstableness.
Both of these can later become feelings of anxiety as they did with me.
HOW MUCH DOES GENETICS PLAY A ROLE IN ANXIETY?
Genetics, the branch of biology that focuses on heredity and variations of organisms, play a role in our personalities. And because of genetics’ role in shaping our personalities, including mental and emotional health, the link it has to anxiety is not surprising.
But how much does genetics play a role in anxiety?
This is one of the most common questions people have when they dig into the causes of their anxiety.
There have been decades of research exploring and studying the connection between genetics and anxiety. And although there is still plenty to learn, there have been studies that suggest genetics play a role in general anxiety. These studies also suggest genetics play a role within specific anxiety disorders.
Let’s explore some of these studies below.
ANXIOUS GENES AND CHROMOSOME 15
Finding out how anxiety and genes are related is one of the most critical aspects of understanding the root causes of anxiety.
When I was younger, I often thought that I would never escape my “anxiety genes” since my family has many members who suffered from it. As I got older and more curious, I began researching the connection between gene expression and anxiety. I started jotting down questions to myself, such as “What percentage of my anxiety stems from my genes?” And “Can I change my gene expression to lessen their effects on my anxiety?”
Although there are no concrete answers to these questions, I uncovered many revealing articles and studies that enhanced my knowledge while broadening my curiosity.
WHAT IS A GENE?
Genes are “a specific sequence of nucleotides in DNA or RNA that is located usually on a chromosome, and that is the functional unit of inheritance controlling the transmission and expression of one or more traits by specifying the structure of a particular polypeptide and especially a protein or controlling the function of other genetic material.”
In this 2002 study, Chromosome 15 was a centerpiece in the research because of its link between anxiety and genetics.
Humans typically have forty-six chromosomes in each cell, divided into twenty-three pairs. Two copies of chromosome 15, one copy from each parent, is inherited to form one of the forty-six pairs. With more than 102 million DNA building blocks, Chromosome 15 represents more than three percent of the total DNA in cells. Research suggests that Chromosome 15 contains six-hundred to seven-hundred genes critical for making proteins. These genes fulfill a variety of different roles in the body.
The conclusion of the 2002 study focusing on Chromosome 15 was that the duplication of part of that specific chromosome is likely a significant genetic factor of susceptibility for panic and phobic disorders.
Making this identification could potentially have critical implications for both psychiatry and health. Because of the increasing development of techniques that can inactivate or alter gene expression, there is now optimism regarding further research on the topic of genes and how they relate to anxiety.
THE ‘MVP’ STUDY
In January of 2020, a large-scale genome-wide analysis of approximately 200,000 military veterans was concluded. It published in the American Journal Of Psychiatry. The study was the most extensive genome-wide association study of anxiety traits ever performed.
The research from this study identified six genetic variants linked to anxiety and anxiety disorders.
Interestingly, some of the variants (MAD1L1, for example) in this study on anxiety had previously been identified as risk factors for bipolar, PTSD, and schizophrenia. Another fascinating discovery from this new research shows why anxiety and depression often coincide with each other (something I’ve experienced firsthand on several occasions).
The data from this research was compiled in the Million Veteran Program (MVP), a government-funded national research program established to determine “how genes, lifestyle and military exposures affect health and illness.” The MVP program’s data shows six variants that are linked to higher risks of developing anxiety disorders. Five of the variants were found in European Americans, while one was found only in African Americans.
Some variants were associated with genes that help control gene activity and a specific gene that is involved in the functioning of receptors for the hormone estrogen.
Although these findings might help explain why women are twice more likely to experience anxiety disorders than men, the variant affecting estrogen receptors was identified in a cohort of veterans made up of primarily men.
More research is needed to analyze this specific data further. But the results of the analysis were intriguing and revealing.
GENERAL ANXIETY DISORDER AND GENETICS
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a condition in which you feel excessive, on-going worry or anxiety that are difficult to control and interfere with day to day activities.
GAD can have symptoms similar to obsessive-compulsive disorder and panic disorder. GAD also tends to coincide with mood disorders or other anxiety.
Over 6.8M (3% of the population) U.S. adults are affected by GAD, yet less than half of them get treatment.
But how much of GAD is caused by genetics?
In a recent study in Germany (2017) highlights the potential links between GAD and genetics.
This research reported a significant odds ratio (OR; ranging from 2.1 to 2.6) for GAD diagnoses in children of parents with GAD. There is overwhelming evidence for a genetic component in GAD’s pathophysiology and other anxiety-related traits.
The conclusion from the analysis shows that GAD is a heritable condition with moderate genetic risk. The heritability of GAD is approximately 30%. Within the spectrum of anxiety disorders and forms of anxiety in childhood, GAD is related to separation anxiety, social phobia, and panic. During later stages of development, GAD shares a genetic origin with other disorders, specifically Major Depressive Disorder MDD. The overlap GAD has with MDD, and Parkinson’s Disease (PD) can be somewhat explained by genetic contributions toward neuroticism.
GENETICS VS ENVIRONMENT – THE CONCLUSION (FOR NOW)
Most researchers believe that anxiety is genetic but that environmental factors can also have an influence. This would suggest that it’s possible to have anxiety without it genetically running in your family.
Experiencing childhood trauma can trigger anxiety in a person, even if they aren’t as genetically prone to anxiety as some of their peers.
The growing field of gene-by-environment (G × E) interactions reveals several interesting biological insights, especially related to stress and anxiety. What makes studies on G x E so fascinating yet complicated, is that tens, if not hundreds to even thousands, of different genes are possibly involved in genetic heritability.
This research shows that part of the risk for both anxiety and stress-related disorders is genetic. But this is where it gets more complicated – the genetic risk factors are likely interacting with different facets of the environment, such as trauma exposure. Other genetic risk factors may be more sensitive to the time of developmental exposure. And there other gene pathways that interact with both toxin exposure and sex hormones create another fascinating combination. How genes and the environment interact varies significantly. More in-depth and detailed research and long-term studies will provide more precise answers and shine more light on this intriguing topic.
Such scientific progress will allow for a much better understanding of how the environment helps to create both mental illness and mental health.
IN REVIEW
- Anxiety affects millions of people in the U.S. and around the world.
- Anxiety can be triggered by both genetics and the environment (the world around us)
- Studies have suggested that the heritability of GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) is 30%.
- Childhood trauma, toxins (such as lead), sex hormones, and other factors can trigger anxiety (and trigger anxiety genes)
- Although anxiety appears to be hereditary, the environment also plays a significant role in stress and anxiety disorders.
- If you feel that you suffer from severe anxiety, please consult a healthcare professional for further guidance.
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