A New Study Suggests Anxiety May Be Genetic After All

25% of people will develop an anxiety disorder during their teen years.
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It's common for anxiety disorders to emerge during adolescence. The brain is going through some pretty major changes, new genes are being expressed, and new hormones are being introduced into the system – this much we knew. What we didn't know, however, is that there is actually a specific gene that may account for why anxiety is linked with those shifts. Why is this significant? Well, it suggests that anxiety may be caused by genetic makeup.

Research published by Dylan Gee, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, found was that the gene that regulates the endocannabinoid system and controls enzyme receptors that are involved in regulating appetite, pain and mood increase during adolescence. Most people carry the default gene, but about 20% carry a variant, which affects brain development differently.

Researchers found that people with the default gene had a stronger connection between their limbic systems and frontal brain areas, and reported less anxiety than people with the gene variant.

About 25% of people will develop an anxiety disorder during their teen years, of which will likely be treated with some combination of cognitive behavioral therapy (which changes a person's mindset to help them cope with problems and difficulties) as well as medications such as SSRI antidepressants. If the findings of this most recent study are significant enough down the road, it could change how we approach and manage anxiety disorders, and possibly optimizing treatments in ways never considered before.

“We know there are so many different factors — biological, environmental, genetic — that all interact together,” Gee said. “The new study helps to understand how genetic variation can emerge at different stages of development.”

Related: 5 Apps Every Girl With Anxiety Needs in Her Life

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