The data was derived from analyses of the genetic and health data of 200,000 military veterans.
According to information from the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety disorders are one of the most prevalent mental health issues in the U.S., and affect some 40 million adults in the country every year. A number of factors contribute to the development of an anxiety disorder, including past life experiences, brain chemistry and genetic makeup.
In their analysis of the veterans' genomic data, they found six genetic variants associated with higher risks of developing anxiety disorders. Five of these were found in white Americans, while an additional one was found in black Americans. "Minorities are underrepresented in genetic studies, and the diversity of the Million Veteran Program was essential for this part of the project," Levey said in afrom the VA."The genetic variant we identified occurs only in individuals of African ancestry, and would have been completely missed in less diverse cohorts."
Another variant, the one on chromosome 7, was associated with the reception of the sex hormone estrogen. However, researchers cautioned those reading the study from drawing conclusions on if this explains why women are affected by anxiety disorders twice as frequently as men. While women veterans were included in this study, more than 90 percent of the veterans whose data is part of the Million Veteran Program are male.
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