The relation between major depressive disorder and comorbid generalized anxiety disorder - results from a European multicenter, cross-sectional survey

Author(s):  
Markus Dold
Author(s):  
Susan Mineka ◽  
Deepika Anand ◽  
Jennifer A. Sumner

The comorbidity of anxiety and mood disorders has been of great interest to psychopathology researchers for the past 25 years. One topic––the comorbidity of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and major depressive disorder (MDD)––has received considerable attention, in part because it has raised fundamental nosological issues regarding whether GAD should continue to be categorized as an anxiety disorder or whether it should be recategorized as a mood disorder. We review the logic for reclassifying GAD with the mood disorders as well as what we believe to be even more compelling reasons for why it should be retained as an anxiety disorder. In doing so, we review three different kinds of comorbidity—cross-sectional, cumulative (lifetime), and sequential. We also discuss overlaps and distinctions in what is known about the etiology of GAD and MDD and how their somewhat different cognitive and affective profiles bear on these issues of classification. Finally, we briefly discuss what some of the treatment implications may be for individuals with comorbid GAD and MDD.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asle Hoffart ◽  
Sverre Urnes Johnson ◽  
Omid V. Ebrahimi

Background. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the social distancing protocols used to impede the spread of the virus may have severe mental health consequences. The purpose of this study was to investigate the network of components of pandemic-related negative psychological states (i.e., fear of infection, financial worries, loneliness) and symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).Methods. Data from 10,061 Norwegian adults recruited through an online survey during a period of strict social distancing protocols were analyzed employing a cross-sectional Gaussian Graphical Model.Results. Of the infection fears, fear of being infected, fear of dying from the coronavirus and fear of significant others dying from it had notable connections to the GAD symptoms anxiety and/or fear of awful events. The financial worry component worry about personal economy was connected to the MDD symptom sleep problems and to the GAD symptom generalized worry. Each of the loneliness components was connected to a specific MDD symptom. Anhedonia, depressed mood and worthlessness had the highest strength centrality among the MDD symptoms; generalized worry, uncontrollability of worry, and trouble relaxing among the GAD symptoms; fear of dying from the virus among the fear of infection components; and feeling isolated among the loneliness components. A community analysis identified separate clusters for MDD and GAD as well as a cluster cutting across the two disorders. Conclusions. Particular components of the pandemic-related distressing states of fear of infection and loneliness seem to be associated with specific symptoms of MDD and GAD.Key words: COVID-19; fear of infection; financial worry; loneliness; major depressive disorder symptoms; generalized anxiety disorder symptoms; cross-sectional network analysis


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanne M Hendriks ◽  
Carmilla MM Licht ◽  
Jan Spijker ◽  
Aartjan TF Beekman ◽  
Florian Hardeveld ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 619-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Mather ◽  
Victoria Blom ◽  
Gunnar Bergström ◽  
Pia Svedberg

Depression and anxiety are highly comorbid due to shared genetic risk factors, but less is known about whether burnout shares these risk factors. We aimed to examine whether the covariation between major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and burnout is explained by common genetic and/or environmental factors. This cross-sectional study included 25,378 Swedish twins responding to a survey in 2005–2006. Structural equation models were used to analyze whether the trait variances and covariances were due to additive genetics, non-additive genetics, shared environment, and unique environment. Univariate analyses tested sex limitation models and multivariate analysis tested Cholesky, independent pathway, and common pathway models. The phenotypic correlations were 0.71 (0.69–0.74) between MDD and GAD, 0.58 (0.56–0.60) between MDD and burnout, and 0.53 (0.50–0.56) between GAD and burnout. Heritabilities were 45% for MDD, 49% for GAD, and 38% for burnout; no statistically significant sex differences were found. A common pathway model was chosen as the final model. The common factor was influenced by genetics (58%) and unique environment (42%), and explained 77% of the variation in MDD, 69% in GAD, and 44% in burnout. GAD and burnout had additive genetic factors unique to the phenotypes (11% each), while MDD did not. Unique environment explained 23% of the variability in MDD, 20% in GAD, and 45% in burnout. In conclusion, the covariation was explained by an underlying common factor, largely influenced by genetics. Burnout was to a large degree influenced by unique environmental factors not shared with MDD and GAD.


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