This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

The Etiologic Role of Genetic and Environmental Factors

Kenneth S. Kendler, MD; Andrew Heath, DPhil; Nicholas G. Martin, PhD; Lindon J. Eaves, DSc

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1986;43(3):213-221.

Abstract
• We examined the etiologic role of genetic and environmental factors in 14 symptoms of anxiety and depression reported by 3,798 pairs of adult twins from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Twin Register. Multifactorlal multiple-threshold models fit the individual symptom scores well. For a substantial majority of the symptoms, the variance in liability was best explained by only genetic factors and environmental influences specific to the individual, where 33% to 46% of the variance was due to genetic factors. For four symptoms, it was not possible to choose definitively between models that, in addition to specific environment, included genetic vs familial environmental effects. These results provide strong evidence for the role of genetic factors in the etiology of symptoms of anxiety and depression as reported in a general population. Evidence for an etiologic role of familial environmental factors was much weaker. If familial environmental factors play any role in the production of these symptoms, they are more important in symptoms of depression than of anxiety, and the factors that predispose to these symptoms are only modestly correlated in males and females.

Author Affiliations
From the Departments of Psychiatry (Dr Kendler) and Human Genetics (Drs Kendler, Heath, Martin, and Eaves), Medical College of Virginia— Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond.

Footnotes
Accepted for publication Jan 31, 1985.

Reprint requests to Department of Psychiatry, Medical College of Virginia, PO Box 710, Richmond, VA 23298 (Dr Kendler).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Neuroticism, extraversion, life events and depression: The Cardiff Depression Study
FARMER et al.
Br. J. Psychiatry 2002;181:118-122.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

A Twin Study of Chronic Fatigue
Buchwald et al.
Psychosom. Med. 2001;63:936-943.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Towards a molecular epidemiology of alcohol dependence: analysing the interplay of genetic and environmental risk factors
HEATH et al.
Br. J. Psychiatry 2001;178 :s33-s40.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

A Controlled Study of Behavioral Inhibition in Children of Parents With Panic Disorder and Depression
Rosenbaum et al.
Am. J. Psychiatry 2000;157:2002-2010.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Tobacco Consumption in Swedish Twins Reared Apart and Reared Together
Kendler et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 2000;57:886-892.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Science, medicine, and the future: Behaviour and genes
McGuffin and Martin
BMJ 1999;319:37-40.
FULL TEXT  

Major Depressive Disorder in a Community-Based Twin Sample: Are There Different Genetic and Environmental Contributions for Men and Women?
Bierut et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1999;56:557-563.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Temperance Board Registration for Alcohol Abuse in a National Sample of Swedish Male Twins, Born 1902 to 1949
Kendler et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1997;54:178-184.
ABSTRACT  

Seasonal Changes in Mood and Behavior: The Role of Genetic Factors
Madden et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1996;53:47-55.
ABSTRACT  

Genetic Questions for Environmental Studies: Differential Parenting and Psychopathology in Adolescence
Reiss et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1995;52:925-936.
ABSTRACT  

Twin Studies of Psychiatric Illness: Current Status and Future Directions
Kendler
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1993;50:905-915.
ABSTRACT  

A Twin Study of Recent Life Events and Difficulties
Kendler et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1993;50:789-796.
ABSTRACT  

A Pilot Swedish Twin Study of Affective Illness, Including Hospital- and Population-Ascertained Subsamples
Kendler et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1993;50:699-706.
ABSTRACT  

Progress in Psychiatry- Second of Two Parts
Michels and Marzuk
NEJM 1993;329:628-638.
FULL TEXT  

Smoking and Major Depression: A Causal Analysis
Kendler et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1993;50:36-43.
ABSTRACT  

A Population-Based Twin Study of Alcoholism in Women
Kendler et al.
JAMA 1992;268:1877-1882.
ABSTRACT  

A Population-Based Twin Study of Major Depression in Women: The Impact of Varying Definitions of Illness
Kendler et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1992;49:257-266.
ABSTRACT  

Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Women: A Population-Based Twin Study
Kendler et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1992;49:267-272.
ABSTRACT  

Childhood Parental Loss and Adult Psychopathology in Women: A Twin Study Perspective
Kendler et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1992;49:109-116.
ABSTRACT  

Critique: Research strategies for decoding the neurochemical basis of resistance to stress
Salmon and Stanford
J Psychopharmacol 1992;6:1-7.
ABSTRACT  

A Controlled Family History Study of Prepubertal Major Depressive Disorder
Puig-Antich et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1989;46:406-418.
ABSTRACT  

Behavioral Inhibition in Children of Parents With Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia: A Controlled Study
Rosenbaum et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1988;45:463-470.
ABSTRACT  

Symptoms of Anxiety and Symptoms of Depression: Same Genes, Different Environments?
Kendler et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1987;44:451-457.
ABSTRACT