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. 2023 Apr 1:326:193-197.
doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.01.090. Epub 2023 Jan 28.

Maternal FGF2 levels associated with child anxiety and depression symptoms through child FGF2 levels

Eli R Lebowitz  1 , Carla E Marin  2 , Meital Orbach  2 , Natalina Salmaso  3 , Flora M Vaccarino  4 , Wendy K Silverman  5
Affiliations

Maternal FGF2 levels associated with child anxiety and depression symptoms through child FGF2 levels

Eli R Lebowitz et al. J Affect Disord. .

Abstract

Background: Recent research implicates fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) in anxiety and depressive symptoms of childhood. This study is the first to examine an intergenerational pathway linking FGF2 levels in mothers to FGF2 levels in children, and to the children's anxiety and depressive symptoms.

Methods: We assayed serum FGF2 in 259 mothers and their children, with a range of anxiety and depressive symptoms: 194 were mothers of clinic-referred anxious and depressed children; 65 were mothers of non-referred children. We examined associations between FGF2 levels in mothers and children, and anxiety and depression symptoms. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine associations between maternal and child FGF2 levels, and between maternal and child FGF2 levels and symptoms of anxiety and depression in and children.

Results: FGF2 levels in mothers and children were significantly positively correlated. Children's FGF2 levels were significantly negatively correlated with their ratings of anxiety and depression. Results of the SEM model showed that increases in maternal FGF2 levels were significantly associated with increases in child FGF2, which in turn was associated with decreases in child anxiety and child depression, controlling for maternal anxiety and depression.

Limitations: We relied on self-reported ratings of anxiety and depression, and on a single measurement of FGF2 levels for each participant.

Conclusions: Our results point to a role for FGF2 in the intergenerational transmission of risk for, and resilience to, anxiety and depression in youth.

Keywords: Anxiety; Children; Depression; Fibroblast growth factor 2.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose. Funding has been disclosed in the Author Statement.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Note: SCARED: Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders; CDI: Child Depression Inventory; FGF2: Fibroblast Growth Factor 2; BAI: Beck Anxiety Inventory; BDI: Beck Depression Inventory.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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