Abstract
Whether well-being and depressive symptoms can be considered as two sides of the same coin is widely debated. The aim of this study was to gain insight into the etiology of the association between well-being and depressive symptoms across the lifespan. In a large twin-design, including data from 43,427 twins between age 7 and 99, we estimated the association between well-being and depressive symptoms throughout the lifespan and assessed genetic and environmental contributions to the observed overlap. For both well-being (range 31-47%) and depressive symptoms (range 49-61%), genetic factors explained a substantial part of the phenotypic variance across the lifespan. Phenotypic correlations between well-being and depressive symptoms across ages ranged from -0.34 in childhood to -0.49 in adulthood. In children, genetic effects explained 49% of the phenotypic correlation while in adolescents and young adults, genetic effects explained 60-77% of the phenotypic correlations. Moderate to high genetic correlations (ranging from -0.59 to -0.66) were observed in adolescence and adulthood, while in childhood environmental correlations were substantial but genetic correlations small. Our results suggest that in childhood genetic and environmental effects are about equally important in explaining the relationship between well-being and depressive symptoms. From adolescence onwards, the role of genetic effects increases compared to environmental effects. These results provided more insights into the etiological underpinnings of well-being and depressive symptoms, possibly allowing to articulate better strategies for health promotion and resource allocation in the future.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 261 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-12 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue number | JUN |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 14 Jun 2018 |
Funding
Authors thank all NTR participants, who participated in this study. This study was funded by the following grants: Spinozapremie (NWO/SPI 56-464-14192); twin-family database for behavior genetics and genomics studies (NWO 480-04-004); Genetics of Mental Illness: European Research Council (ERC-230374); Genetic influences on stability and change in psychopathology from childhood to young adulthood (NWO/ZonMW 91210020); NARSAD Brain & Behavior Research Foundation-18633; Determinants Of Adolescent Exercise Behavior (NIH-1R01DK092127-01). The Netherlands organization for Scientific Research (NWO): Genetic and Family influences on Adolescent psychopathology and Wellness (NWO 463-06-001); A twin-sib study of adolescent wellness (NWO-VENI 451-04-034). MB and DB are supported by the European Union Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007-2013, grant no. 602768). YW was supported by the research talent fund (NWO 406-15-132). Netherlands Twin Registry repository: researching the interplay between genome and environment (NWO 480-15-001/674). MB and BB are financially supported by the University Research Chair position of MB.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| European Union Seventh Framework Program | |
| FP7/2007 | NWO 480-15-001/674, NWO 406-15-132 |
| NARSAD Brain & Behavior Research Foundation-18633 | NIH-1R01DK092127-01 |
| NTR | NWO 480-04-004, NWO/SPI 56-464-14192 |
| Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research | NWO-VENI 451-04-034, NWO 463-06-001 |
| National Institutes of Health | 1R01DK092127-01 |
| Seventh Framework Programme | 602768, 230374, 771057 |
| European Research Council | NWO/ZonMW 91210020 |
Keywords
- Adolescence
- Adulthood
- Childhood
- Depressive symptoms
- Heritability
- Well-being
Cohort Studies
- Netherlands Twin Register (NTR)