Abstract

Stress, Genetics and Mood: Impact of COVID-19 on a College Freshman Sample

Turner C, Khalil H, Murphy-Weinberg V, Hagenauer M, Gates L, Tang A, Weinberg L, Grysko R, Floran-Garduno L, Dokas T, Zhao Z, Fang Y, Sen S, Lopez J, Watson SJ, Akil H
60th Annual Meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. 2021.

Abstract

Background: To study the interplay between genetic risk for depression and psychosocial stress, including the COVID-19 pandemic, in the emergence of symptoms of depression and/or anxiety in college freshmen. We distinguish between genetically- and non-genetically based types of resilience and their role during major life stressors.

Methods: University of Michigan freshmen (2015-2020) were characterized at baseline along clinical variables. They were genotyped and polygenic risk score for depression (MDD-PRS) was calculated. Their daily physical activity was captured, and they were sampled at multiple time points throughout the freshman year on clinical rating scales including GAD-7 and PHQ-9 for anxiety and depression, respectively. To assess the impact of the pandemic, the 2019-2020 cohort was analyzed separately.

Results: Across various years, 25%-57% of college freshmen developed significant symptoms of anxiety or depression. In the 2019-2020 cohort, measures of anxiety, depression and physical activity were all altered significantly after the onset of COVID-19. Physical activity, which differed between those who did vs. did not meet criteria for a mood disorder, was dramatically reduced by the pandemic.

High MDD-PRS conferred higher relative risk for depression/anxiety during a typical freshman year. Surprisingly, the pandemic had the clearest impact on the Low MDD-PRS group, which lost any evidence of genetic advantage. Conversely, psychological predictors of resiliency emerged as key factors in protecting the High MDD-PRS subjects who did not develop a mood disorder post-stress.

Conclusions: Although the pandemic increased mood disorders across the board, it eliminated the protection of genetic resilience. Psychological indices of resiliency were associated with protecting those with higher genetic risk.