Age of onset anticipation in anxiety disorders

Anticipation, an increase in severity or a decrease in the age of onset inh erent in the transmission of a disease gene from an affected parent to a ch ild, is being increasingly described in human diseases. In this study we se arched for possible anticipation in anxiety disorders. Seventeen unilineal families who had anxiety disorders were compared across two successive gene rations as to age at the onset of anxiety disorders. Life table analyses re vealed a significant decrease in the onset of anxiety disorders from older to younger generations. No evidence of a difference in the type of anxiety disorder was found. Anticipation was thus found in families with anxiety di sorders and, if it is confirmed by other studies, trinucleotide repeat sequ ences may be considered to account for the familial aggregation of anxiety disorders. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.