The effects of optimism, religion, and hope on mood and anxiety disorders in women with the FMR1 premutation.
E P Lowell, B L Tonnsen, D B Bailey and 1 others
PMID 28895261WHAT IT FOUND
In mothers with the FMR1 premutation who had a child with fragile X syndrome, higher optimism was linked to lower lifetime depression and lower anxiety over time.
Religious participation related to fragile X was linked to higher lifetime depression. Hope showed no clear link.
Key findings
01Higher optimism was associated with lower lifetime depression at Time 1 and lower recent anxiety at Time 2.
02Religious participation related to fragile X was associated with higher lifetime depression at Time 1.
03Recent depression at Time 2 was associated with higher child problem behaviour and older maternal age.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The analysis used 83 women after 10 of 93 did not complete follow-up, although affective disorder rates did not differ between those who did and did not return. There was no comparison group, so the study cannot say whether these associations are specific to women with the FMR1 premutation or to mothers of children with fragile X syndrome. Anxiety disorders were combined into one category because too few women met criteria for each separate anxiety disorder. Depression and anxiety were recorded as present or absent rather than by symptom severity, which may have missed weaker associations. The study observed associations over time; it did not test whether changing optimism, hope or religious participation would affect mental health.
Declared interests
The article is listed as supported by NIH extramural research. The supplied text does not include a conflict-of-interest statement.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that optimism causes less depression or anxiety, or that counselling to increase optimism will improve mental health. This was an observational longitudinal study of associations, not a tested intervention.