Abstract :
NIHR BioResource consortium Keywords Anxiety; Depression; Behavior genetics; Psychiatric genetics; Data sharing; Life events Highlights * Online recruitment of 40,000 individuals with lifetime depression or anxiety. * Detailed online phenotyping combined with genetic and clinical data. * The study sample is severe, highly comorbid, with chronic psychopathology. * The study protocol enables recall of participants for future research and trials. Abstract Background Anxiety and depression are common, debilitating and costly. These disorders are influenced by multiple risk factors, from genes to psychological vulnerabilities and environmental stressors, but research is hampered by a lack of sufficiently large comprehensive studies. We are recruiting 40,000 individuals with lifetime depression or anxiety and broad assessment of risks to facilitate future research. Methods The Genetic Links to Anxiety and Depression (GLAD) Study (www.gladstudy.org.uk(http://www.gladstudy.org.uk)) recruits individuals with depression or anxiety into the NIHR Mental Health BioResource. Participants invited to join the study (via media campaigns) provide demographic, environmental and genetic data, and consent for medical record linkage and recontact. Results Online recruitment was effective; 42,531 participants consented and 27,776 completed the questionnaire by end of July 2019. Participants' questionnaire data identified very high rates of recurrent depression, severe anxiety, and comorbidity. Participants reported high rates of treatment receipt. The age profile of the sample is biased toward young adults, with higher recruitment of females and the more educated, especially at younger ages. Discussion This paper describes the study methodology and descriptive data for GLAD, which represents a large, recontactable resource that will enable future research into risks, outcomes, and treatment for anxiety and depression. Abbreviations GWAS, genome-wide association study; SNP, single nucleotide polymorphism; GLAD, Genetic Links to Anxiety and Depression; NIHR, National Institute for Health Research; IAPT, Improving Access to Psychological Therapies; SLaM, South London and Maudsley; NHS, National Health Service; SURE, Service User Research Enterprise; FAST-R, Feasibility and Acceptability Support Team for Researchers; PR, public relations; SOPs, standard operating procedures; CRN, Clinical Research Networks; GP, general practitioner; CCG, Clinical Commissioning Group; MDD, Major depressive disorder; GAD, Generalised anxiety disorder Author Affiliation: (a) Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, Denmark Hill, Camberwell, London, UK (b) UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley Hospital, London, UK (c) School of Psychology, Queens University Belfast (QUB), Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK (d) MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK (e) Division of Psychiatry, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinurgh, UK (f) Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK (g) NIHR BioResource, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, UK (h) Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, UK (i) Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK (j) South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Bethlem Royal Hospital, Monks Orchard Road, Beckenham, Kent, UK (k) School of Biomedical Sciences, Ulster University, Coleraine Campus, Northern Ireland, UK (l) GreenLight Pharmaceuticals Limited, Unit 2, Block E, Nutgrove Office Park, Dublin 14, Ireland (m) Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden * Corresponding author. Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, Denmark Hill, Camberwell, London, UK. Article History: Received 1 February 2019; Revised 4 September 2019; Accepted 23 October 2019 (footnote)1 Joint senior authors. Byline: Molly R. Davies (a,b), Gursharan Kalsi (a,b), Chérie Armour (c), Ian R. Jones (d), Andrew M. McIntosh (e), Daniel J. Smith (f), James T.R. Walters (d), John R. Bradley (g), Nathalie Kingston (g,h), Sofie Ashford (g,i), Ioana Beange (e), Anamaria Brailean (a), Anthony J. Cleare (a,b,j), Jonathan R.I. Coleman (a,b), Charles J. Curtis (a,b), Susannah C.B. Curzons (a,b), Katrina A.S. Davis (a,b,j), Le Roy C. Dowey (k,l), Victor A. Gault (k), Kimberley A. Goldsmith (a,b), Megan Hammond Bennett (a,b), Yoriko Hirose (e), Matthew Hotopf (a,b,j), Christopher Hübel (a,b,m), Carola Kanz (g,h), Jennifer Leng (a,b), Donald M. Lyall (f), Bethany D. Mason (a,b), Monika McAtarsney-Kovacs (a,b), Dina Monssen (a,b), Alexei Moulton (g,h), Nigel Ovington (g,h), Elisavet Palaiologou (a,b), Carmine M. Pariante (a,b,j), Shivani Parikh (a,b), Alicia J. Peel (a,b), Ruth K. Price (k), Katharine A. Rimes (a), Henry C. Rogers (a,b), Jennifer Sambrook (g,h), Megan Skelton (a,b), Anna Spaul (a,b), Eddy L.A. Suarez (a,b), Bronte L. Sykes (a,b), Keith G. Thomas (k), Allan H. Young (a,b,j), Evangelos Vassos (a), David Veale (a,b,j), Katie M. White (a,b), Janet Wingrove (j), Thalia C. Eley (a,b,**,1), Gerome Breen [gerome.breen@kcl.ac.uk] (a,b,*,1)