Skelton, Megan;
Mundy, Jessica;
Ter Kuile, Abigail R;
Adey, Brett N;
Armour, Chérie;
Buckman, Joshua EJ;
Coleman, Jonathan RI;
... Eley, Thalia C; + view all
(2025)
Genetic overlap between functional impairment and depression and anxiety symptom severity: evidence from the GLAD Study.
Psychological Medicine
, 55
, Article e224. 10.1017/S0033291725101037.
Preview |
PDF
genetic-overlap-between-functional-impairment-and-depression-and-anxiety-symptom-severity-evidence-from-the-glad-study (1).pdf - Published Version Download (1MB) | Preview |
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Functional impairment in daily activities, such as work and socializing, is part of the diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder and most anxiety disorders. Despite evidence that symptom severity and functional impairment are partially distinct, functional impairment is often overlooked. To assess whether functional impairment captures diagnostically relevant genetic liability beyond that of symptoms, we aimed to estimate the heritability of, and genetic correlations between, key measures of current depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and functional impairment. METHODS: In 17,130 individuals with lifetime depression or anxiety from the Genetic Links to Anxiety and Depression (GLAD) Study, we analyzed total scores from the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (depression symptoms), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (anxiety symptoms), and Work and Social Adjustment Scale (functional impairment). Genome-wide association analyses were performed with REGENIE. Heritability was estimated using GCTA-GREML and genetic correlations with bivariate-GREML. RESULTS: The phenotypic correlations were moderate across the three measures (Pearson's r = 0.50-0.69). All three scales were found to be under low but significant genetic influence (single-nucleotide polymorphism-based heritability [h2SNP] = 0.11-0.19) with high genetic correlations between them (rg = 0.79-0.87). CONCLUSIONS: Among individuals with lifetime depression or anxiety from the GLAD Study, the genetic variants that underlie symptom severity largely overlap with those influencing functional impairment. This suggests that self-reported functional impairment, while clinically relevant for diagnosis and treatment outcomes, does not reflect substantial additional genetic liability beyond that captured by symptom-based measures of depression or anxiety.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Genetic overlap between functional impairment and depression and anxiety symptom severity: evidence from the GLAD Study |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1017/S0033291725101037 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291725101037 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). |
| Keywords: | dimensional symptoms, disability, genetic correlations, internalizing symptoms, mental health, Humans, Male, Female, Adult, Middle Aged, Genome-Wide Association Study, |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10212149 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
