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The effects of stress–tension on depression and anxiety symptoms: evidence from a novel twin modelling analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 September 2016

C. G. Davey ,
C. López-Solà ,
M. Bui ,
J. L. Hopper ,
C. Pantelis ,
L. F. Fontenelle  and
B. J. Harrison
C. G. Davey*
Affiliation:
Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia Department of Psychiatry, Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
C. López-Solà
Affiliation:
Adult Mental Health Unit, Parc Taulí University Hospital, Sabadell, Spain CIBERSAM (Centro de Investigación en Red de Salud Mental), Carlos III Health Institute, Madrid, Spain
M. Bui
Affiliation:
Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
J. L. Hopper
Affiliation:
Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia Department of Family Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Irwon-ro 81, Gangnamgu, Seoul, South Korea
C. Pantelis
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
L. F. Fontenelle
Affiliation:
Programa de Transtornos Obsessivo-Compulsivos e de Ansiedade, Instituto de Psiquiatria, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Instituto D'Or de Pesquisa e Ensino (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Instituto de Saúde da Comunidade, Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
B. J. Harrison
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
*
*Address for correspondence: C. Davey, Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, 35 Poplar Road, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia. (Email: [email protected])
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Abstract

Background

Negative mood states are composed of symptoms of depression and anxiety, and by a third factor related to stress, tension and irritability. We sought to clarify the nature of the relationships between the factors by studying twin pairs.

Method

A total of 503 monozygotic twin pairs completed the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS), an instrument that assesses symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress–tension. We applied a recently developed twin regression methodology – Inference about Causation from Examination of FAmiliaL CONfounding (ICE FALCON) – to test for evidence consistent with the existence of ‘causal’ influences between the DASS factors.

Results

There was evidence consistent with the stress–tension factor having a causal influence on both the depression (p < 0.0001) and anxiety factors (p = 0.001), and for the depression factor having a causal influence on the anxiety factor (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Our findings suggest a critical role for stress–tension in the structure of negative mood states, and that interventions that target it may be particularly effective in reducing depression and anxiety symptoms.

Keywords

Anxietydepressionstresstemperamenttwin studies
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 46 , Issue 15 , November 2016 , pp. 3213 - 3218
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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