Long-term physical health conditions and youth anxiety and depression: Is there a causal link?

ABSTRACT:

Background

The prevalence of youth anxiety and depression has increased globally, with limited causal explanations. Long-term physical health conditions (LTCs) affect 20-40% of youth, with rates also rising. LTCs are associated with higher rates of youth depression and anxiety; however, it is uncertain whether observed associations are causal or explained by unmeasured confounding or reverse causation.

Methods

Using data from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) and Norwegian National Patient Registry, we investigated phenotypic associations between childhood LTCs, and depression and anxiety diagnoses in youth (<19 years), defined using ICD-10 diagnoses and self-rated measures. We then conducted two-sample Mendelian Randomization (MR) analyses using SN

SUBMITTER: Shakeshaft A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11968126 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature