[Review of genetic studies of the nosology of anxiety disorders].

This paper reviews some of the important studies on the genetic aspects of anxiety, based on clinical, family and twin studies. Well-known methodological difficulties characteristic of earlier studies are at this time partly resolved. Researchers use specific criteria for defining subcategories of anxiety disorders. These are being applied in large epidemiological family studies and national twin registers. The part played by genetic or environmental factors varies greatly according to diagnostic sub-category. A genetic influence seems important for panic disorders and agoraphobia, but not for generalized anxiety disorder. A validation of these sub-categories could be obtained from discoveries of molecular genetics.