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Understanding Anxiety Symptoms of Mood Disorders Across Bipolar and Major Depressive Disorder Using Network Analysis
Sarah Soonji Kwon1, Hyukjun Lee2, Jakyung Lee2
1Department of Psychiatry, Huntsman Mental Health Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA.
Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania)
|December 31, 2025
Summary
Anxiety symptoms in major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) show similar network structures but higher connectivity in MDD. Targeting core anxiety symptoms can improve mood disorder interventions.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Clinical Psychology
- Network Analysis
Background:
- Anxiety is common in major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD).
- Understanding anxiety's role in mood disorders aids in identifying symptom clusters, severity, and effective interventions.
- Network analysis offers a novel approach to explore these complex interactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare anxiety symptom networks in patients with MDD and BD.
- To identify central anxiety symptoms and their interconnections within each disorder group.
- To assess structural differences and global strength variations in anxiety networks between MDD and BD.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of 815 individuals with MDD (n=332) and BD (n=483) and significant anxiety symptoms (Beck Anxiety Inventory [BAI] score > 8).
- Network analysis was employed to identify anxiety symptom clusters and centrality.
- Network stability, centrality measures, and comparison tests were used to evaluate structural differences and global strength.
Main Results:
- Both MDD and BD anxiety networks exhibited strong interconnections and stable centrality measures.
- Core anxiety symptoms like "Losing control," "Choking," "Breathing," "Unsteady," and "Shaky" were central in both groups.
- While overall network structures were similar, MDD showed significantly higher global network strength (connectivity) compared to BD.
Conclusions:
- Anxiety symptom networks in MDD and BD encompass both cognitive and somatic symptoms.
- Despite similar structures, MDD anxiety networks display stronger interconnections among central symptoms.
- Targeting these central anxiety symptoms presents a promising strategy for enhancing prevention and intervention in mood disorders.
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