Anxiety disorders are prevalent mental health conditions that often manifest in early adulthood and affect more girls than boys. They are associated with lower socio-economic status and parental internalizing problems like anxiety and depression. Both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the development of anxiety disorders, which can be inherited from parents.
Tu and colleagues (2023) conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the link between parental mood disorders (including bipolar disorder and unipolar depression) and anxiety disorders in offspring. They found that children of parents with mood disorders had a significantly increased risk of developing various anxiety disorders compared to children of parents without mood disorders.
The study included a total of 35 studies, which revealed that offspring of parents with mood disorders had higher lifetime rates of anxiety disorders, including Social Anxiety Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, social phobia, specific phobia, panic disorder, and agoraphobia. The risk ratios for developing anxiety disorders were consistently elevated in at-risk offspring, with panic disorder showing the highest risk.
Both parental bipolar disorder and unipolar depression were associated with increased risks of certain anxiety disorders in offspring. Parental bipolar disorder raised the risk for any anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and panic disorder, whereas parental depression increased the risk for any anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, specific phobia, and panic disorder.
The study highlighted factors like the absence of anxiety disorders in control parents, younger offspring age, and specific parent/offspring sex as contributing to higher risks of certain anxiety disorders in offspring. The findings emphasized the significant impact of parental mood disorders on the likelihood of anxiety disorders in offspring and underscored the importance of considering specific anxiety disorders and associated factors in understanding intergenerational mental health outcomes.
The study’s strengths lie in its clear inclusion criteria, realistic pooling methods, and high interrater reliability, which enhance the reliability of its conclusions. However, limitations include the lack of diversity in the sample population, potential impact of small sample sizes on robustness, and inconsistency in data due to changes in diagnostic criteria over time. Addressing these limitations in future research could provide a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between parental mood disorders and anxiety disorders in offspring.
