Chronotype, Genetic Risk, Lifestyle, and Risk of Depression and Anxiety: A Prospective Cohort Study

We aimed to evaluate associations of chronotype, genetic risk, and lifestyle with depression and anxiety. A total of 242,391 participants without anxiety and depression at baseline in UK Biobank were included. During a total of 3,393,260.1 and 1,371,872.8 person‐years follow‐up, we found 11,824 (4.88%) incident depression and 10,051 (4.15%) incident anxiety cases, respectively. Compared with definite morning group, individuals with intermediate (HR = 1.09, 95% CI = 1.04‒1.13) and definite evening chronotype (HR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.36‒1.55) have higher risks of depression, and individuals with definite evening chronotype (HR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.18‒1.37) have a higher risk of anxiety. We found joint association between chronotype and genetic risk, those with high genetic risk and definite evening chronotype had the highest risk of depression (HR = 2.01, 95% CI = 1.81‒2.23) and anxiety (HR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.24‒1.58). We also found joint association between chronotype and lifestyle, those with least healthy lifestyle and definite evening chronotype had the highest risk of depression (HR = 1.99, 95% CI = 1.65‒2.40) and anxiety (HR = 1.69, 95% CI = 1.36‒2.10). Individuals with evening chronotype are associated with higher risks of depression and anxiety.