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Published Online: 4 March 2016

Depressive and Anxiety Disorders Showing Robust, but Non-Dynamic, 6-Year Longitudinal Association With Short Leukocyte Telomere Length

Josine E. Verhoeven, M.Sc., Patricia van Oppen, Ph.D., Dóra Révész, M.Sc., Owen M. Wolkowitz, M.D., and Brenda W.J.H. Penninx, Ph.D.Authors Info & Affiliations
Publication: American Journal of Psychiatry
Volume 173, Number 6
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.15070887
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Abstract

Objective:

Several cross-sectional studies have related depressive and anxiety disorders to shorter leukocyte telomere length (LTL) as an indicator of cellular aging. However, these studies have left many unresolved questions about underlying causality and ordering of associations. The objective of the present large, longitudinal study was to examine the relationship between depressive and anxiety disorders and LTL over a 6-year time period.

Method:

Data are from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety, including 2,292 patients with remitted and current diagnoses of depressive or anxiety disorders and 644 healthy control subjects. LTL was assessed using quantitative PCR and measured at baseline and after 6 years; depressive and anxiety disorder diagnoses and characteristics (course, duration, and severity) were determined at baseline and after 2, 4, and 6 years.

Results:

Results showed that persons with remitted (B=−52.6) and current (B=−60.8) depressive or anxiety disorder had consistently shorter LTL compared with healthy control subjects across baseline and at the 6-year follow-up, remaining significant when controlling for lifestyle and somatic health variables. Changes in the course of depressive or anxiety disorder characteristics over 6 years, however, were not associated with different LTL attrition rates.

Conclusions:

This study confirmed robust associations of depressive and anxiety disorders with shorter telomeres, but interestingly, it did not demonstrate that depressive and anxiety disorders and LTL change together over time, suggesting the absence of a direct within-person relationship. Short LTL is suggested to be either a long-term consequence or an underlying vulnerability factor for depressive or anxiety disorders.

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Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to American Journal of Psychiatry
Go to American Journal of Psychiatry
American Journal of Psychiatry
Volume 173 • Number 6 • June 01, 2016
Pages: 617 - 624
PubMed: 26940806

History

Received: 13 July 2015
Revision received: 7 September 2015
Revision received: 5 November 2015
Accepted: 30 November 2015
Published online: 4 March 2016
Published in print: June 01, 2016

Authors

Details

Josine E. Verhoeven, M.Sc.
From the Department of Psychiatry and EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and the Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco.
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Patricia van Oppen, Ph.D.
From the Department of Psychiatry and EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and the Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco.
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Dóra Révész, M.Sc.
From the Department of Psychiatry and EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and the Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco.
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Owen M. Wolkowitz, M.D.
From the Department of Psychiatry and EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and the Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco.
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Brenda W.J.H. Penninx, Ph.D.
From the Department of Psychiatry and EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and the Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco.
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Notes

Previously presented in part at the 12th World Congress of Biological Psychiatry, Athens, Greece, June 15, 2015.
Address correspondence to Dr. Verhoeven ([email protected]).

Competing Interests

Dr. Penninx has received research funding (not related to this study) from Jansen Research. All other authors report no financial relationships with commercial interests.

Funding Information

NWO-VICI grant: 91811602
Supported by an NWO-VICI grant (number 91811602) to Dr. Penninx, Josine Verhoeven, and Dóra Révesz for telomere length assaying. The infrastructure for the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (www.nesda.nl) is funded through the Geestkracht program of the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (Zon-Mw, grant number 10-000-1002) and is supported by participating universities and mental health care organizations (VU University Medical Center, GGZ inGeest, Arkin, Leiden University Medical Center, GGZ Rivierduinen, University Medical Center Groningen, Lentis, GGZ Friesland, GGZ Drenthe, Institute for Quality of Health Care [IQ Healthcare], Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research [NIVEL], and Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction [Trimbos]).

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