Sex differences in anxiety heritability

This study aimed to investigate whether the heritability of anxiety from parent to child is sex specific.¹ The results shown on the slide suggest that whilst the presence of an anxiety disorder in a parent of the same sex as the child was associated with an increased risk of anxiety in the offspring, the presence of an anxiety disorder in a parent of the opposite sex was not.¹ Interestingly, the authors speculate that this suggests that environmental mechanisms underly this risk, such as modeling behaviour and vicarious learning.¹

Reference:

1. Pavlova B, Bagnell A, Cumby J, et al. Sex-specific transmission of anxiety disorders from parents to offspring. JAMA Netw Open 2022; 5 (7): e2220919.