Stability of Genetic and Environmental Contributions to Anxiety Symptoms in Older Adulthood

Anxiety symptoms are common in later life and are associated with diverse adverse health outcomes. Little is known about how genetic and environmental influences on anxiety symptoms might vary across older adulthood. The purpose of this study was to explore change and stability of contributions to anxiety symptoms across older adulthood. We examined data from the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging (SATSA). Between the years 1984 and 2010, 2,021 participants (including 753 complete twin pairs) completed up to seven assessments containing two measures of anxiety symptoms. Longitudinal genetic simplex models were fit to examine the stability and change in genetic and environmental influences. Amplification of genetic factors at ages 75–80 suggests tentative new genetic contributions to anxiety symptoms. These findings suggest that the heritability of anxiety symptoms may increase later in life. Physiological factors associated with aging are discussed as potential factors explaining this increase