Latent trajectory classes of depressive and anxiety disorders from adolescence to adulthood: descriptions of classes and associations with risk factors

Abstract

This study used person-oriented analyses to identify subgroups of individuals who exhibit different patterns of depressive and anxiety disorders over the course of adolescence and young adulthood. Using latent class growth analysis, six trajectory classes were identified. Two classes were mainly characterized by depressive disorders; one class was mainly characterized by anxiety disorders; two classes were characterized by temporally different patterns of comorbidity; and one class was characterized by the absence of psychopathology. Classes characterized largely by depressive disorders differed in persistence and degree of comorbidity with anxiety disorders. Classes that were characterized by anxiety disorders differed in persistence, age of onset, and constellation of specific anxiety disorders. Female participants were more likely to belong to classes characterized by fluctuations in the course of depressive and anxiety disorders; sex differences were not observed in classes characterized by persistent depressive and anxiety disorders. Offspring of parents with depression were more likely to have a depressive course, whereas offspring of parents with anxiety disorders tended to have a course characterized by anxiety disorder. The findings indicate that several subgroups of adolescents exist with distinct longitudinal trajectories of depressive and anxiety disorders, and these trajectory classes are associated with different risk factors.

Keywords: anxiety disorder; comorbidity; depressive disorder; longitudinal studies; transmission.

Figure 1

The top panel displays estimated probabilities of depressive disorder as a function of class membership. The bottom panel displays estimated probabilities of anxiety disorder as a function of class membership. Class 1 includes individuals with persistent depression (1.3%); Class 2 includes individuals with persistent anxiety (2.1%); Class 3 includes individuals with later onset of anxiety with increasing depression (3.7%); Class 4 includes individuals with increasing depression (22.8%); Class 5 includes individuals with anxiety with early recovery (5.0%); and Class 6 includes individuals without anxiety/depression (65.1%).