The impact of COVID-19 on a college freshman sample reveals genetic and nongenetic forms of susceptibility and resilience to stress

Using a longitudinal approach, we sought to define the interplay between genetic and nongenetic factors in shaping vulnerability or resilience to COVID-19 pandemic stress, as indexed by the emergence of symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. University of Michigan freshmen were characterized at base...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Jg. 120; H. 49; S. e2305779120
Hauptverfasser: Turner, Cortney A, Khalil, Huzefa, Murphy-Weinberg, Virginia, Hagenauer, Megan H, Gates, Linda, Tang, Yu, Weinberg, Lauren, Grysko, Robert, Floran-Garduno, Leonor, Dokas, Thomas, Samaniego, Catherine, Zhao, Zhuo, Fang, Yu, Sen, Srijan, Lopez, Juan F, Watson, Jr, Stanley J, Akil, Huda
Format: Journal Article
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: United States 05.12.2023
Schlagworte:
Affect
Anxiety - epidemiology
Anxiety - genetics
Anxiety Disorders
COVID-19 - epidemiology
COVID-19 - genetics
Depression - epidemiology
Depression - genetics
Female
Humans
Pandemics
students
polygenic risk
depression
ISSN:1091-6490, 1091-6490
Online-Zugang:Weitere Angaben
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Using a longitudinal approach, we sought to define the interplay between genetic and nongenetic factors in shaping vulnerability or resilience to COVID-19 pandemic stress, as indexed by the emergence of symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. University of Michigan freshmen were characterized at baseline using multiple psychological instruments. Subjects were genotyped, and a polygenic risk score for depression (MDD-PRS) was calculated. Daily physical activity and sleep were captured. Subjects were sampled at multiple time points throughout the freshman year on clinical rating scales, including GAD-7 and PHQ-9 for anxiety and depression, respectively. Two cohorts (2019 to 2021) were compared to a pre-COVID-19 cohort to assess the impact of the pandemic. Across cohorts, 26 to 40% of freshmen developed symptoms of anxiety or depression (N = 331). Depression symptoms significantly increased in the pandemic years and became more chronic, especially in females. Physical activity was reduced, and sleep was increased by the pandemic, and this correlated with the emergence of mood symptoms. While low MDD-PRS predicted lower risk for depression during a typical freshman year, this genetic advantage vanished during the pandemic. Indeed, females with lower genetic risk accounted for the majority of the pandemic-induced rise in depression. We developed a model that explained approximately half of the variance in follow-up depression scores based on psychological trait and state characteristics at baseline and contributed to resilience in genetically vulnerable subjects. We discuss the concept of multiple types of resilience, and the interplay between genetic, sex, and psychological factors in shaping the affective response to different types of stressors.
Bibliographie:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:1091-6490
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.2305779120