Anxiety may be hereditary: study
| Apr 19, 2019, 10:46 IST
Anxious thoughts are inevitable, in life. But having anxious thoughts and anxiety disorders are two different things, the latter being a serious issue that may or not require treatments. It’s worrying because an anxiety disorder when left untreated can manifest physically. Symptoms like shaking, raging, nausea and palpitations are common with patients. Even today, the specific causes of anxiety are still unknown. Some researchers think it can be inherited. Which begs us to ask, is anxiety really hereditary?
But a variety of factors go into play for the development of anxiety. This could include an imbalance of mood-regulating chemicals, overactivity in certain areas of the brain, traumatic experiences, and genes inherited from parents. According to the NHS, a person can be five times more likely to develop the disorder if they have a close relative with the condition. There also appears to be a familial link with OCD development.
But Baldwin, who is also a clinical advisor for the Anxiety UK charity, adds that other causes of anxiety in later life "such as adverse experiences in childhood and adolescence" are also important. "In most patients, a range of familial, developmental, and environmental factors have contributed to anxiety," he concludes. Experts hope to find genetic causes and to use these causes to develop a more effective treatment.
How long that will take exactly is still unclear.