title: Family load estimates and risk factors of anxiety disorders in a nationwide three generation study.
abstract: The present study investigated how often anxiety disorders with different ages of onset occurred in affected families compared to control families. Furthermore, the study addressed the impact of sex, region of residence, year and month of birth, and parental age at birth. The sample included N=1373 child and adolescent psychiatric participants born between 1952 and 2000 and registered in the Danish Psychiatric Central Register (DPCR) who developed an anxiety disorder before the age of 18. N =4019 controls without any psychiatric diagnosis before age 18, were matched for age, sex, and residential region. Psychiatric diagnoses were also obtained for parents, siblings, and offspring. A family load component was obtained by using various mixed regression models. Anxiety disorders occurred significantly more often in case than in control families. Having a mother, father, or a sibling with the disorder was proven to be a risk factor. Female sex, year of birth, and region of residence were also associated with having an anxiety disorder. Furthermore, case relatives did not develop an anxiety disorder earlier than control relatives. These findings, based on a very large and representative dataset, provide further and solid evidence for the family aggregation of anxiety disorders.
authors.affiliation: Research Unit for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Aalborg University Hospital, Mølleparkvej 10, 9000 Aalborg, Denmark; Research Institute of Biological Psychiatry, Mental Health Center Sct. Hans, Copenhagen University Hospital, Boserupvej 2, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark. Electronic address: dorte.helenius@regionh.dk.
authors.forename: Dorte
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Helenius
authors.affiliation: Aarhus University Hospital, Risskov, Denmark.
authors.forename: Povl
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Munk-Jørgensen
authors.affiliation: Research Unit for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Aalborg University Hospital, Mølleparkvej 10, 9000 Aalborg, Denmark; Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, University of Basel, Switzerland; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Hans-Christoph
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Steinhausen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008423:Maternal Age; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010290:Parents; D010331:Paternal Age; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors; D035781:Siblings; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Anxiety disorder; Early onset; Family based register study