The Genetic Links to Anxiety and Depression (GLAD) Study: Online recruitment into the largest recontactable study of depression and anxiety

Molly R Davies; Gursharan Kalsi; Chérie Armour; Ian R Jones; Andrew M McIntosh; Daniel J Smith; James T R Walters; John R Bradley; Nathalie Kingston; Sofie Ashford; Ioana Beange; Anamaria Brailean; Anthony J Cleare; Jonathan R I Coleman; Charles J Curtis; Susannah C B Curzons; Katrina A S Davis; Le Roy C Dowey; Victor A Gault; Kimberley A Goldsmith; Megan Hammond Bennett; Yoriko Hirose; Matthew Hotopf; Christopher Hübel; Carola Kanz; Jennifer Leng; Donald M Lyall; Bethany D Mason; Monika McAtarsney-Kovacs; Dina Monssen; Alexei Moulton; Nigel Ovington; Elisavet Palaiologou; Carmine M Pariante; Shivani Parikh; Alicia J Peel; Ruth K Price; Katharine A Rimes; Henry C Rogers; Jennifer Sambrook; Megan Skelton; Anna Spaul; Eddy L A Suarez; Bronte L Sykes; Keith G Thomas; Allan H Young; Evangelos Vassos; David Veale; Katie M White; Janet Wingrove; NIHR BioResource consortium; Thalia C Eley; Gerome Breen

doi:10.1016/j.brat.2019.103503

The Genetic Links to Anxiety and Depression (GLAD) Study: Online recruitment into the largest recontactable study of depression and anxiety

Behav Res Ther. 2019 Dec:123:103503. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2019.103503. Epub 2019 Oct 24.

Authors

Molly R Davies¹, Gursharan Kalsi¹, Chérie Armour², Ian R Jones³, Andrew M McIntosh⁴, Daniel J Smith⁵, James T R Walters³, John R Bradley⁶, Nathalie Kingston⁷, Sofie Ashford⁸, Ioana Beange⁴, Anamaria Brailean⁹, Anthony J Cleare¹⁰, Jonathan R I Coleman¹, Charles J Curtis¹, Susannah C B Curzons¹, Katrina A S Davis¹⁰, Le Roy C Dowey¹¹, Victor A Gault¹², Kimberley A Goldsmith¹, Megan Hammond Bennett¹, Yoriko Hirose⁴, Matthew Hotopf¹⁰, Christopher Hübel¹³, Carola Kanz⁷, Jennifer Leng¹, Donald M Lyall⁵, Bethany D Mason¹, Monika McAtarsney-Kovacs¹, Dina Monssen¹, Alexei Moulton⁷, Nigel Ovington⁷, Elisavet Palaiologou¹, Carmine M Pariante¹⁰, Shivani Parikh¹, Alicia J Peel¹, Ruth K Price¹², Katharine A Rimes⁹, Henry C Rogers¹, Jennifer Sambrook⁷, Megan Skelton¹, Anna Spaul¹, Eddy L A Suarez¹, Bronte L Sykes¹, Keith G Thomas¹², Allan H Young¹⁰, Evangelos Vassos⁹, David Veale¹⁰, Katie M White¹, Janet Wingrove¹⁴; NIHR BioResource consortium; Thalia C Eley¹, Gerome Breen¹⁵

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, Denmark Hill, Camberwell, London, UK; UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley Hospital, London, UK.
² School of Psychology, Queens University Belfast (QUB), Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
³ MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
⁴ Division of Psychiatry, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinurgh, UK.
⁵ Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
⁶ NIHR BioResource, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, UK.
⁷ NIHR BioResource, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, UK; Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, UK.
⁸ NIHR BioResource, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, UK; Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
⁹ Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, Denmark Hill, Camberwell, London, UK.
¹⁰ Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, Denmark Hill, Camberwell, London, UK; UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley Hospital, London, UK; South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Bethlem Royal Hospital, Monks Orchard Road, Beckenham, Kent, UK.
¹¹ School of Biomedical Sciences, Ulster University, Coleraine Campus, Northern Ireland, UK; GreenLight Pharmaceuticals Limited, Unit 2, Block E, Nutgrove Office Park, Dublin 14, Ireland.
¹² School of Biomedical Sciences, Ulster University, Coleraine Campus, Northern Ireland, UK.
¹³ Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, Denmark Hill, Camberwell, London, UK; UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley Hospital, London, UK; Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
¹⁴ South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Bethlem Royal Hospital, Monks Orchard Road, Beckenham, Kent, UK.
¹⁵ Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, Denmark Hill, Camberwell, London, UK; UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley Hospital, London, UK. Electronic address: gerome.breen@kcl.ac.uk.

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) 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.

Keywords: Anxiety; Behavior genetics; Data sharing; Depression; Life events; Psychiatric genetics.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Age of Onset
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Anxiety / genetics*
Depression / genetics*
Female
Genotype
Humans
Internet
Male
Middle Aged
Patient Selection*
Phenotype
Phobic Disorders / genetics
Program Development / methods*
Young Adult

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding