To many anxiety and depression seem like adult conditions. However, thousands of people carry anxiety and depression from childhood into adulthood.
Now a huge study conducted by scientists at the University of Queensland revealed that there are genetic reasons for childhood anxiety and depression that persists into adulthood.
Millions of people are suffering from anxiety, depression and other mental disorders and many of them brought these conditions from childhood. Image credit: Wes Washington via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)
This study involved data of 64,641 children, aged between 3 and 18 years. Because yes, anxiety and depression can start very early in life, delivering significant blows to the childhood itself and the child's ability to develop social and other skills.
Researchers discovered that those children who had similar levels of anxiety and depression were also alike genetically. Study also showed that there is a significant genetic overlap between childhood and adult mental health disorders. This pointed to the hypothesis that it might be hereditary factors responsible for persistent childhood anxiety and depression.
Sometimes poor behaviour in childhood is blamed on the lack of discipline. However, new studies reveal that the mental state of the child can be determined by numerous genetic factors. Professor Christel Middeldorp, one of the authors of the study, said: “Mental health symptoms often come together, so those who experience anxiety or depression have a greater risk of disorders such as ADHD, aggressive behaviour. We found that this co-occurrence is also due to genetic variants”.
Scientists didn’t dig deep into the genetic factors. However, future studies could try to identify them and then these issues could be addressed using some modern therapies. Scientists estimate that genetics account for around 40 % of a person’s risk of suffering anxiety and depression and environmental factors shape the rest.
While everyone sometimes feel anxious or depressed, not everyone has it as a disorder. It becomes a real health problem when anxiety and depression prevents people from going on with their lives in a usual manner. These conditions can be detrimental on one’s quality of life and it is extremely sad that a lot of children suffer from them.
In the next stage of the study scientists will analyze the interplay of genetics and environmental variables. Childhood anxiety and depression depend on many environmental factors, such as school and family life. Scientists will try to see how they interplay with genetics.
Depression and anxiety should not be overlooked. These mental conditions can have debilitating effects if they go on unchecked. In some cases medical attention is absolutely necessary.
Source: University of Queensland