Onset Of Anxiety Disorders Research Articles

Causal relationship between cortical structural changes and onset of anxiety disorder: evidence from Mendelian randomization.

Previous studies have reported a correlation between anxiety disorders and changes in brain structure, yet the specific alterations in brain region volumes remain unclear. This study aimed to infer the causal relationship between anxiety disorders and changes in brain structure volume through Mendelian Randomization analysis. We selected 63 cortical structure volumes from the GWAS database as exposure data and anxiety disorder data from the FinnGen and UK Biobank databases as outcomes. We found a significant correlation between atrophy in the Left precentral volume area (Odds Ratio [OR] = 0.935, 95% Confidence intervals [CI]: 0.891-0.981, P value, P = 0.007) and an increased risk of anxiety disorders. Additionally, changes identified in specific brain regions, such as atrophy in the Right rostral anterior cingulate area (OR = 0.993, 95% CI: 0.987-0.999, P = 0.025) and increased volume in the Left superior parietal area (OR = 1.001, 95% CI: 1.000-1.001, P = 0.028), may correlate with an increased risk of anxiety disorders. Furthermore, both phenotypes demonstrated directional consistency in their respective and overall meta-analyzed OR values pre- and post-merger, enhancing the reliability of the results. This study elucidates the causal relationship between anxiety disorders and specific brain structures, providing new insights for further research into psychiatric disorders.

The reward positivity as a predictor of first lifetime onsets of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation in high-risk adolescents

BackgroundReduced reward Positivity (RewP), an electroencephalography (EEG) marker elicited by feedback indicating reward, has been associated with an increased risk for depression in adolescence. However, the predictive capability of RewP in predicting the first-lifetime onset of depressive disorders, as opposed to anxiety and suicidal ideation in high-risk populations, has not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, the authors examine if RewP predicts the first-lifetime onset of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation over 18 months in familial high-risk adolescents. MethodsThe sample included 145 adolescents (64.8% male), aged 11–17 years, who had at least one parent with a history of mood and anxiety disorders and completed baseline and at least one follow-up measurement. At baseline, RewP was measured using a simple gambling task, their current internalizing symptoms were assessed using self-report questionnaires, and the youth’s psychiatric diagnoses were evaluated with diagnostic interviews. The same interview was administered to the adolescents again at 9 months and 18 months later. ResultsLogistic regression models showed that higher RewP scores significantly predicted a lower likelihood of developing a first onset of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) over 18 months, even after controlling for sex, age, and baseline internalizing symptoms. In contrast, RewP did not significantly predict the first onset of anxiety disorders or suicidal ideation. ConclusionsReduced RewP precedes the first onset of depression in high-risk adolescents, highlighting RewP's predictive capability in predicting depression risk in predisposed populations. Blunted RewP could complement self-reported symptoms in screening and prevention.

Refining criteria for a neurodevelopmental sub-phenotype of bipolar disorders: a FondaMental Advanced Centers of Expertise for Bipolar Disorders study

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a complex and heterogeneous psychiatric disorder. Neurodevelopmental factors were suggested to contribute to the etiology of BD, yet a specific neurodevelopmental phenotype of the disorder remains unidentified. Our objective was to define and characterize a neurodevelopmental phenotype (NDP) in BD and validate its associations with clinical outcomes, polygenic risk scores (PGS), and treatment responses. We analyzed the FACE-BD cohort of 4,468 BD patients, a validation cohort of 101 BD patients, and two independent replication datasets of 274 and 89 BD patients. Using factor analyses, we identified a set of criteria for defining NDP. We next developed a scoring system for NDP-load and assessed its association with prognosis, neurological soft signs, polygenic risk scores for neurodevelopmental disorders, and responses to treatment using multiple regressions, adjusted for age and sex with bootstrap replications. Our study established a NDP in BD consisting of nine clinical features: advanced paternal age, advanced maternal age, childhood maltreatment, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), early onset of BD, early onset of substance use disorders, early onset of anxiety disorders, early onset of eating disorders, specific learning disorders. Patients with higher NDP-load showed a worse prognosis and increased neurological soft signs. Notably, these individuals exhibited a poorer response to lithium treatment. Furthermore, a significant positive correlation was observed between the NDP-load and PGS for ADHD suggesting potential overlapping genetic factors or pathophysiological mechanisms between BD and ADHD. The proposed NDP constitutes a promising clinical tool for patient stratification in BD.

Nutritional Imbalance between Omega-6 and Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids during Pregnancy Increases the Number of Pyramidal Neurons in the Basolateral Amygdala and Anxiety-Related Behavior in Offspring.

Modern agriculture allows for the production of foods that are high in n-6 linoleic acid and low in n-3 α-linolenic acid (LAhigh/ALAlow), which are suggested to be associated with an increased risk for the onset of anxiety disorders. However, there is not sufficient evidence to understand its underlying brain mechanism. Given that mouse offspring derived from mothers fed a LAhigh/ALAlow diet during gestation and early lactation showed increased anxiety-related behaviors and that rodents exposed to a LAhigh/ALAlow diet are more vulnerable to stress, in this study, we investigated the effects of maternal LAhigh/ALAlow diet consumption on stress-induced anxiety-related behavior and the brain structures involved in the expression of negative emotional states in mouse offspring. In a standard environment, offspring exposed to either the control diet or the LAhigh/ALAlow diet in utero showed similar stay times in the center zone in the open field test. On the other hand, under stressful environments, offspring exposed to the LAhigh/ALAlow diet in utero showed decreased stay times in the center zone compared to those exposed to the control diet. We further found that the number of a subpopulation of pyramidal neurons in the basolateral amygdala, which can regulate negative emotional behaviors, was greater in the offspring exposed to the LAhigh/ALAlow diet compared to those exposed to the control diet. These data suggest that maternal dietary imbalance between n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids confers stress vulnerability to offspring during the process of brain development.

Frontiers and hotspots in anxiety disorders: A bibliometric analysis from 2004 to 2024

ObjectiveThis study aimed to analyze research on anxiety disorders using VOSviewer and CiteSpace to identify research hotspots and future directions. MethodsWe conduct ed a comprehensive search on the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) for relevant studies about anxiety disorders published within the past two decades (from 2004 to 2024). VOSviewer and CiteSpace were mainly used to analyze the authors, institutions, countries, publishing journals, reference co-citation patterns, keyword co-occurrence, keyword clustering, and other aspects to construct a knowledge atlas. ResultsA total of 22,267 publications related to anxiety disorders were retrieved. The number of publications about anxiety disorders has generally increased over time, with some fluctuations. The United States emerged as the most productive country, with Harvard University identified as the most prolific institution and Brenda W. J. H. Penninx as the most prolific author in the field. ConclusionThis research identified the most influential publications, authors, journals, institutions, and countries in the field of anxiety research. Future research directions are involved advanced treatments based on pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy and digital interventions, mechanism exploration to anxiety disorders based on neurobiological and genetic basis, influence of social and environmental factors on the onset of anxiety disorders.

Prospective prediction of anxiety onset in the Canadian longitudinal study on aging (CLSA): A machine learning study

BackgroundAnxiety disorders are among the most common mental health disorders in the middle aged and older population. Because older individuals are more likely to have multiple comorbidities or increased frailty, the impact of anxiety disorders on their overall well-being is exacerbated. Early identification of anxiety disorders using machine learning (ML) can potentially mitigate the adverse consequences associated with these disorders. MethodsWe applied ML to the data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) to predict the onset of anxiety disorders approximately three years in the future. We used Shapley value-based methods to determine the top factor for prediction. We also investigated whether anxiety onset can be predicted by baseline depression-related predictors alone. ResultsOur model was able to predict anxiety onset accurately (Area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve or AUC = 0.814 ± 0.016 (mean ± standard deviation), balanced accuracy = 0.741 ± 0.016, sensitivity = 0.743 ± 0.033, and specificity = 0.738 ± 0.010). The top predictive factors included prior depression or mood disorder diagnosis, high frailty, anxious personality, and low emotional stability. Depression and mood disorders are well known comorbidity of anxiety; however a prior depression or mood disorder diagnosis could not predict anxiety onset without other factors. LimitationWhile our findings underscore the importance of a prior depression diagnosis in predicting anxiety, they also highlight that it alone is inadequate, signifying the necessity to incorporate additional predictors for improved prediction accuracy. ConclusionOur study showcases promising prospects for using machine learning to develop personalized prediction models for anxiety onset in middle-aged and older adults using easy-to-access survey data.

Neuroticism and extraversion as predictors of first-lifetime onsets of depression, anxiety, and suicidality in high-risk adolescents.

There is substantial evidence that personality traits, in particular neuroticism and extraversions predict depressive and anxiety episodes as well as suicidal ideation. However, little research has examined whether these traits predict the first onset of depressive and anxiety disorders and suicidal ideation. Moreover, the few studies to date have not adjusted for pre-existing subthreshold symptoms, assessed dimensionally. In this study, 144 adolescents were assessed at baseline, 9-, and 18-month follow-ups. Neuroticism and extraversion were assessed via self-report, and depressive and anxiety disorders and suicidal ideation were assessed with diagnostic interviews. Adjusting for age, sex, and baseline symptoms, logistic regression analyses showed that neuroticism predicted the first onset of depressive disorders. However, neither neuroticism nor extraversion predicted first onsets of anxiety disorders, extraversion did not predict depressive disorders, and neither trait predicted suicidal ideation onset or severity after adjusting for baseline symptoms. Neuroticism and extraversion may respectively predispose youth to depressive or anxiety disorders but not to suicidal ideation over and above pre-existing symptoms. Results have implications for the early identification of at-risk youth and prevention of depressive and anxiety disorders and suicidal ideation.

Fear conditioning and fear generalization in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders

Overgeneralization of conditioned fear is associated with anxiety disorders (AD). Most results stem from studies done in adult patients, but studies with children are rare, although the median onset of anxiety disorders lies already in childhood. Thus, the goal of the present study was to examine fear learning and generalization in youth participants, aged 10–17 years, with AD (n = 39) compared to healthy controls (HC) (n = 40). A discriminative fear conditioning and generalization paradigm was used. Ratings of arousal, valence, and US expectancy (the probability of an aversive noise following each stimulus) were measured, hypothesizing that children with AD compared to HC would show heightened ratings of arousal and US expectancy, and decreased positive valence ratings, respectively, as well as overgeneralization of fear. The results indicated that children with AD rated all stimuli as more arousing and less pleasant, and demonstrated higher US expectancy ratings to all stimuli when compared to HC. Thus, rather than displaying qualitatively different generalization patterns (e.g., a linear vs. quadratic slope of the gradient), differences between groups were more quantitative (similar, but parallel shifted gradient). Therefore, overgeneralization of conditioned fear does not seem to be a general marker of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents.

Pendekatan Brief DBT untuk Menurunkan Gejala Kecemasan dan Kesulitan Regulasi Emosi pada Remaja Perempuan

Changes in physical, cognitive, emotional, and social interactions in female adolescents are associated with the onset of anxiety disorder. Furthermore, during middle adolescence, adolescents tend to use maladaptive emotion regulation strategies. Difficulties in emotion regulation are associated with the emergence and the increased intensities of anxiety. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy is an evidence-based intervention to increase emotion regulation skill and to decrease anxiety symptoms. This study is a training with a brief Dialectical Behavioral Therapy approach aimed to reduce anxiety symptoms in 6 female adolescents (grade 10). Results showed that the training significantly reduced the level of anxiety symptoms. Meanwhile, although there were declines in the pre and post-test scores of emotion dysregulation, the scores differences were not significant. Training duration and invalidating environment were identified as factors contributing to the insignificant reduction of the emotion dysregulation level.

Pain and insomnia as risk factors for first lifetime onsets of anxiety, depression, and suicidality in adolescence.

Chronic pain and mental health problems have both been identified as public health emergencies and co-occur at high rates. This prospective, longitudinal investigation examined whether chronic pain status, pain-related symptoms (intensity, interference), pain catastrophizing, and insomnia severity predicted first lifetime onset of depressive and/or anxiety disorders as well as suicidality in a cohort of youth with a parental history of mood and/or anxiety disorders. Participants included 145 youth ( Mage = 13.74 years; 64% female) who completed structured diagnostic interviews at baseline and at 9- and 18-month follow-up to assess depressive and anxiety disorders as well as suicidality. Participants completed baseline questionnaires assessing depressive and anxiety symptoms, pain symptoms and characteristics, pain interference, pain catastrophizing, and insomnia severity. Approximately 25% of youth reported having chronic pain at baseline. Nearly half (47.3%) developed a depressive disorder (21.3%), anxiety disorder (15.7%), or both (10.3%), and 34% endorsed experiencing suicidality at follow-up. Increased pain interference, intensity, catastrophizing, and insomnia severity predicted increased likelihood of first lifetime onset of a depressive disorder at follow-up, over and above sex and baseline symptoms. Chronic pain at baseline was associated with the increased likelihood of onset of suicidality at follow-up. Increased pain intensity and interference at baseline predicted increased severity of suicidality at follow-up. Insomnia severity predicted increased likelihood of anxiety disorder onset. The presence of chronic pain and elevated pain-related symptoms and insomnia are premorbid risk factors for the development of significant mental health disorders and issues in youth.

Anxiety onset in adolescents: a machine-learning prediction

Recent longitudinal studies in youth have reported MRI correlates of prospective anxiety symptoms during adolescence, a vulnerable period for the onset of anxiety disorders. However, their predictive value has not been established. Individual prediction through machine-learning algorithms might help bridge the gap to clinical relevance. A voting classifier with Random Forest, Support Vector Machine and Logistic Regression algorithms was used to evaluate the predictive pertinence of gray matter volumes of interest and psychometric scores in the detection of prospective clinical anxiety. Participants with clinical anxiety at age 18–23 (N = 156) were investigated at age 14 along with healthy controls (N = 424). Shapley values were extracted for in-depth interpretation of feature importance. Prospective prediction of pooled anxiety disorders relied mostly on psychometric features and achieved moderate performance (area under the receiver operating curve = 0.68), while generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) prediction achieved similar performance. MRI regional volumes did not improve the prediction performance of prospective pooled anxiety disorders with respect to psychometric features alone, but they improved the prediction performance of GAD, with the caudate and pallidum volumes being among the most contributing features. To conclude, in non-anxious 14 year old adolescents, future clinical anxiety onset 4–8 years later could be individually predicted. Psychometric features such as neuroticism, hopelessness and emotional symptoms were the main contributors to pooled anxiety disorders prediction. Neuroanatomical data, such as caudate and pallidum volume, proved valuable for GAD and should be included in prospective clinical anxiety prediction in adolescents.

AGGRESSION AND VIOLENCE AGAINST HEALTH WORKERS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The review article examines cases of violence and aggression against health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Violence and aggression represent a series of behaviors or actions that can lead to doing harm or causing injury to another person, regardless of whether it is a physical or verbal action, whether physical harm has been done or an intention has been expressed. The cases of violence in various countries of the world are described, general statistics on these cases is shown. First of all, these cases come from patients and relatives of patients. The pandemic and acts of violence also affect health workers, increasing the onset of anxiety disorders in them. Nurses and junior service personnel are most often subjected to violence, as they spend most of their time directly with patients. It has been confirmed that medical workers of the ambulance, emergency and intensive care units, traumatology and surgery units often face violence. Systematic reviews show that the main risk factors are long waiting times, inconsistencies between patients' expectations and services, substance abuse by the patient and mental disorders. The article gives examples of how to protect medical workers from violence and aggression, to prevent outbreaks of discontent among patients and their relatives.

Conceptualization of comorbid anxiety and depressive disorders and approaches to their managing

Anxiety and depressive disorders are characterized with frequent co-occurance. Depression comorbid to anxiety disorder increases severity of main disorder, aggravates it`s clinical course, worsens social functioning of the patients and decreases life quality, results resistance to therapy and increases the probability of suicidal attempts. In patients with depressive disorders onset of anxiety disorder results increased severity of disorder and decrease in quality of remission. There are different opinions on nature and phenomenology of comorbidity of anxiety and depressive disorders. There are biological and psychological factors of risk of comorbidity. Some scientists consider comorbid disorders to be independent and not to effect each other; others pay attention at common anatomic basis of comorbid disorders, which explains manifestation of comorbid disorder. Hierarchical analysis of clinical features of comorbid disorders favors nosological approach to understanding of comorbidity, and implicates the need for inclusion of transdiagnostic elements. Some authors consider comorbid disorders to be separate type of disorder, characterized with special dynamics of syndromes which reveals transformation of one disorder into another. Phenomenon of comorbidity can be described as part of concept of disease spread which estimates important role of bridge psychic states. Considering clinical features of comorbid disorders, difficulties of their therapy based on concepts of phenomenology of comorbid depressive and anxiety disorders recommendations on prevention, early diagnosing and managing of comorbid disorders were elaborated. Psychotherapy (including CBT, which demonstrated high efficiency) is an essential element of treatment of comorbid depressive and anxiety disorders. Psychotherapy is supposed to be correcting personality traits, cognitive mistakes and maladaptive strategies of coping with disorder, which support the comorbidity.

Deleting “fear” from “fear extinction”: Estimating the individual extinction rate via non-aversive conditioning

Individual differences in extinction learning have attracted ample attention of researchers and are under investigation as a marker for the onset of anxiety disorders and treatment response. Unfortunately, the common paradigm for obtaining the extinction rate, which entails aversive stimulus pairings, is subject to practical limitations. Therefore, the present study assessed whether the use of an aversive stimulus is actually needed to get a good estimate of the extinction rate. A total of 161 undergraduate students completed a conditioning task with both an aversive and a non-aversive stimulus. Using latent class growth analysis (LCGA), distinct trajectories, representing normal and stunted extinction learning, were identified for both these stimulus types. Participants’ membership in these classes largely overlapped for aversive and non-aversive stimulus pairings and respective extinction indices were significantly correlated. Thereby, findings suggest that the use of a non-aversive stimulus could suffice for successfully capturing individual differences in extinction learning. However, future studies are needed to confirm that conditioning with a non-aversive stimulus may serve to predict clinically relevant outcomes.

Pharmacological Targeting of Microglia to Regulate Stress Susceptibility

Social stress exposure precipitates the onset of anxiety disorders and women are more likely to suffer from these stress-related pathologies. The stress-sensitive neural mechanisms promoting anxiety in females are not well understood, thus preventing the development of therapies targeting this hyper-aroused state. The locus coeruleus (LC) is a stress-sensitive brain region known to facilitate behavioral and cardiovascular (CV) responses to social stress, two endpoints altered under conditions of hyperarousal. Importantly, social stressors induce microglial activation, and the resulting neuroinflammation plays a causative role in generating anxiety-like behavior. However, it is unknown whether pharmacological manipulation of microglia within the LC serves as a method to regulate stress susceptibility in a female population and is tested in two ways in this study. In study 1 we use lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a potent microglial activator, and in study 2, we administer mannosylated lipid-based nanoparticles containing clodronate (CLD), a compound toxic to microglia, to manipulate microglial expression in the presence and absence of witness stress (WS). In study 1, following recovery from implantation of bilateral LC cannulae, female rats were treated with intra-LC vehicle or LPS (0, 1, 3, or 10 μg/side). After a 45-min rest period, rats were briefly handled, placed back into their home cage for a 15-min non-stress control period. Immediately following, rats were subjected to witnessing an aggressive social defeat encounter between two male rats (WS). Behavior was video-recorded during control and WS, and blood and brain were collected following WS. This study demonstrated that WS increased stress-evoked burying (an anxiety-like response) and intra-LC LPS dose dependently augments this anxiety-like response during WS. Intra-LC LPS (1 and 3μg) reduced WS-evoked rearing behavior but had no effect on freezing. Additionally, intra-LC LPS (3 μg) increases plasma corticosterone and interleukin-1β. Alternatively, to investigate whether decreased microglial expression in the LC inhibits these stress-evoked behaviors, study 2 examined the effect of partial microglial depletion (intra-LC CLD) on behavioral and CV responses to repeated WS. Following recovery from implantation of CV transmitters (HD-S11, DSI) and bilateral LC cannulae, female rats were treated with intra-LC vehicle or CLD (0 or 25 μg/side). 3 days post injection, rats were subjected to WS for 15 min/day on 5 consecutive days. While WS exposure increased anxiety-like burying, partial microglial depletion in the LC attenuated this response. Interestingly, intra-LC CLD's effect on hyperaroused behavioral responses was independent of sympathetically driven CV responses as there was no effect on heart rate or blood pressure on day 1 of WS, but there was an exaggerated pressor response following repeated stress exposure (day 5). Taken together, these studies highlight a novel role for microglia in regulating behavioral responses to WS and indicate that microglial targeting may be effective in regulating social stress susceptibility.

Understanding the Connection Between the Gut-Brain Axis and Stress/Anxiety Disorders.

We review the association of the microbiota-gut-brain axis and anxiety disorder or stress. The microbiota-gut-brain axis mechanism encompasses a bidirectional relationship between the brain and gastrointestinal organs. Dysregulation of the microbiota-gut-brain axis has been actively revealed in the context of various psychiatric diseases such as neurodevelopmental disorders, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, and depression. We suggest that onset of anxiety disorders may be correlated with activation of a microbiota-gut-brain mechanism involving the immune system, neurotransmitters, and the hormonal system. By applying a microbiota-gut-brain axis mechanism, the possibility of using gastrointestinal system drugs such as probiotics and antibiotics as treatments for anxiety disorders is a possibility. Although modification of the microbiota-gut-brain axis mechanism has yet to be adopted clinically, it is expected that novel strategies employing this mechanism will be developed and deployed as new treatments not only for anxiety disorders, but also other psychiatric diseases.

The Volatile Oil of Zanthoxylum bungeanum Pericarp Improved the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis and Gut Microbiota to Attenuate Chronic Unpredictable Stress-Induced Anxiety Behavior in Rats.

BackgroundAnxiety disorders (ADs) are the most prevalent mental disorders worldwide. Stress-induced activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and dysbiosis of gut microbiota seem to contribute to the onset of ADs. This study was designed to investigate the ameliorative effect of volatile oil of Zanthoxylum bungeanum (VOZB) on chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) induced anxiety behavior, as well as the altered HPA axis and gut microbiota.MethodsExperimental rats were exposed to the CUS for 14 consecutive days. Meanwhile, VOZB was administered at doses of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg/day for 14 days. The anxiety behavior was evaluated by elevated plus-maze (EPM) and open field (OF). The protein expressions and mRNA levels of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in hypothalamus was determined, as well the hormone levels of HPA axis in serum. Furthermore, gut microbiota was detected by16S rRNA gene sequencing. The chemical constituents of VOZB were identified by GC-MS analysis.ResultsVOZB treatment (100 and 200 mg/kg/day) increased the ratio of open-arm entries and time in EPM test, as well as the central zone entries and time in OF test. Moreover, VOZB treatment reduced the protein expressions and mRNA levels of CRH, but elevated those of GR in hypothalamus. Similarly, the hormone levels of the HPA axis in serum were decreased by VOZB treatment. Besides, VOZB treatment restored the CUS-induced dysbiosis of gut microbiota, raising the Sobs and Chao indexes, inhibiting Lachnospiraceae, but facilitating Bacteroidales_S24-7_group, Lactobacillaceae, and Prevotellaceae. Additionally, Sobs and Chao indexes were negatively correlated to the serum corticosterone and CRH levels.ConclusionVOZB showed an ameliorative effect on CUS-induced anxiety behavior, potentially via inhibiting activation of the HPA axis and restoring the dysbiosis of gut microbiota, thus improving the stress-induced abnormality of the microbiota-gut-brain axis.

Brain Electrical Activity Mapping (BEAM) on Trait Anxiety among Malaysian Chinese Children

Objective - Woefully, the early onset of anxiety disorders had affected children in different aspects throughout their developmental stages. In order to get rid of the increased prevalence rate among children, the biological attributed risk factors for anxiety should be given more concern. Particularly, this research intended to study the biological brain mechanism for trait anxiety among children. With brain electrical activity mapping, this research was aimed to study the relationship between the brain locations situated at the prefrontal cortex and temporal lobe with trait anxiety. Subsequently, this research aimed to predict the associated brain locations for trait anxiety among anxious children. Methodology/Technique – A total of 212 Chinese children from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with high trait anxiety was recruited after the first phase of the screening phase through the administration of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children-Trait Scale (STAIC-T). Recruited children then proceeded to the second phase of brain electrical activity brain mapping with a Quantitative Electroencephalogram (qEEG) brain mapping machine. Finding – Results showed that brain locations Fp1, Fp2, F7, F8, F3, F4, T3, and T4 are significantly correlated with trait anxiety while F8, Fp2, F4, and Fp1 are the significant predictors for trait anxiety among children during on task state. In short, the biological brain mechanism of brain locations played a role in forming the anxious trait the personality of children which resulted in reducing their resilience towards stress. Type of Paper: Empirical JEL Classification: D83, I19 Keywords: Brain Electrical Activity Mapping (BEAM); Children; Chinese; Malaysia; Trait anxiety; Quantitative Electroencephalogram (qEEG) Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Cheong, C.C; Ashari, A; Ibrahim, R; Sulaiman, W.A.W; Yong, K.K. (2020). Brain Electrical Activity Mapping (BEAM) on Trait Anxiety among Malaysian Chinese Children, GATR Global J. Bus. Soc. Sci. Review, 8(4): 246 – 259. https://doi.org/10.35609/gjbssr.2020.8.4(6)

Psychosocial and biological risk factors of anxiety disorders in adolescents: a TRAILS report

Anxiety disorders are a common problem in adolescent mental health. Previous studies have investigated only a limited number of risk factors for the development of anxiety disorders concurrently. By investigating multiple factors simultaneously, a more complete understanding of the etiology of anxiety disorders can be reached. Therefore, we assessed preadolescent socio-demographic, familial, psychosocial, and biological factors and their association with the onset of anxiety disorders in adolescence. This study was conducted among 1584 Dutch participants of the TRacking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS). Potential risk factors were assessed at baseline (age 10–12), and included socio-demographic (sex, socioeconomic status), familial (parental anxiety and depression), psychosocial (childhood adversity, temperament), and biological (body mass index, heart rate, blood pressure, cortisol) variables. Anxiety disorders were assessed at about age 19 years through the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed with onset of anxiety disorder as a dependent variable and the above-mentioned putative risk factors as predictors. Of the total sample, 25.7% had a lifetime diagnosis of anxiety disorder at age 19 years. Anxiety disorders were twice as prevalent in girls as in boys. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that being female (OR = 2.38, p < .01), parental depression and anxiety (OR = 1.34, p = .04), temperamental frustration (OR = 1.31, p = .02) and low effortful control (OR = 0.76, p = .01) independently predicted anxiety disorders. We found no associations between biological factors and anxiety disorder. After exclusion of adolescents with an onset of anxiety disorder before age 12 years, being female was the only significant predictor of anxiety disorder. Being female was the strongest predictor for the onset of anxiety disorder. Psychological and parental psychopathology factors increased the risk of diagnosis of anxiety, but to a lesser extent. Biological factors (heart rate, blood pressure, cortisol, and BMI), at least as measured in the present study, are unlikely to be useful tools for anxiety prevention and intervention strategies.

Preventing the Onset of Anxiety Disorders in Offspring of Anxious Parents: A Six-Year Follow-up.

This study examined the effects of a family-based intervention Coping and Promoting Strength (CAPS) relative to a control condition, information-monitoring (IM), to prevent the onset of anxiety disorders in offspring of anxious parents sixyears after their initial assessment. One hundred thirty six families participated in the original randomized trial; 113 (83%) completed the one time follow-up assessment. Presence of anxiety disorders and severity of symptoms in offspring were assessed by masked evaluators using the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule; parents and offspring also completed questionnaires assessing offspring anxiety. Using the intentionto treat sample from the original trial, Cox regression models showed significant intervention main effects in the rate of onset of anxiety disorders from baseline to follow-up (anxiety disorder: hazard ratio (HR) = 2.55, 95% CI: 1.54, 4.21) but growth curves suggest effects occurred within the first year after program completion. No group differences were found in the cumulative incidence of anxiety disorders at the six-year follow-up. Additional intervention appears needed to maintain the initial positive effects long-term to reduce the risk for downstream disability.Clinical Trials Registration: NCT00847561.