The interaction of 5‐HTT variation, recent stress, and resilience on current anxiety levels in adolescents and young adults from the general population

Abstract

Background Previous work on gene‐environment (GxE) interplay concerning anxiety has focused on the interaction of 5‐HTTLPR with childhood adversities or traumatic events whereas the impact of recent stressors is understudied, as is the integration of resilience. The current study aimed to investigate the interactive effect of 5‐HTTLPR and recent stress on anxiety in adolescents considering resilience as buffer of a GxE risk constellation. Method In a random population‐based sample of 14–21 years old from Dresden, Germany, (N = 1180; genotyped = 942) recent stress (Daily Hassles [DH] Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, Screening Scale of the Trier Inventory for the Assessment of Chronic Stress), resilience (Connor–Davidson resilience scale) and anxiety (Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System Anxiety Short Form) were assessed via questionnaire in 2015 or 2016. Results Fractional regression models revealed that resilience interacted with recent stress in form of DH as well as recent chronic stress and 5‐HTTLPR regarding anxiety. Participants carrying the more active LALA genotype reported consistently higher levels of anxiety when experiencing more DH or more recent chronic stress and having low levels of resilience. When the resilience scores were high, LALA carriers reported the lowest anxiety scores despite DH or recent chronic stress. Conclusion Findings revealed an interactive relationship between 5‐HTTLPR genotype and recent stress suggesting resilience to function as an additional dimension buffering the impact of a GxE risk constellation. Early interventions to build resilience may be useful to prevent an escalation of distress and associated unfavorable health outcomes.

Adolescents' Resilience During COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Mediating Role in the Association Between SEL Skills and Mental Health

“…Results of regression analyses show that resilience, age, and gender explained variance in internalizing problems. This is in line with results of previous studies attesting that higher resilience predicts lower scores of depression, anxiety, and other internalizing problems (Hjemdal et al, 2011;Ollmann et al, 2021). On the other hand, SEL skills did not play a significant role in explaining these problems, suggesting that it is not sufficient to prevent internalizing problems.…”

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Social and Emotional Learning and Internalizing Problems among Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Resilience

“…According to the second hypothesis, our outcomes illustrate a negative association between resilience and internalizing problems. It is in line with the results of previous studies attesting that higher resilience predicts lower scores of depression, anxiety, and other internalizing problems [ 69 , 70 ]. Several investigations highlighted the importance of resilience in combating internalizing problems.…”

Primary prevention of depression: An umbrella review of controlled interventions

“…One of the main clinical implications of the primary prevention of depression is that it can have an influence not only on the onset of depression, but also on future recurrences (Ten Have et al, 2018) and on the attenuation of poor outcomes in the medium and long-term (Solmi et al, 2020b). For instance, early interventions to enhance resilience may be useful to prevent poor mental health outcomes (Ollmann et al, 2020). Furthermore, they could also have an impact on the future onset of mental disorders, including different types of mental disorders, which may start with subthreshold depressive symptoms, frequently in individuals with previous risk factors (Oliver et al, 2019).…”