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

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

Molly R Davies  1 , Gursharan Kalsi  1 , Chérie Armour  2 , Ian R Jones  3 , Andrew M McIntosh  4 , Daniel J Smith  5 , James T R Walters  3 , John R Bradley  6 , Nathalie Kingston  7 , Sofie Ashford  8 , Ioana Beange  4 , Anamaria Brailean  9 , Anthony J Cleare  10 , Jonathan R I Coleman  1 , Charles J Curtis  1 , Susannah C B Curzons  1 , Katrina A S Davis  10 , Le Roy C Dowey  11 , Victor A Gault  12 , Kimberley A Goldsmith  1 , Megan Hammond Bennett  1 , Yoriko Hirose  4 , Matthew Hotopf  10 , Christopher Hübel  13 , Carola Kanz  7 , Jennifer Leng  1 , Donald M Lyall  5 , Bethany D Mason  1 , Monika McAtarsney-Kovacs  1 , Dina Monssen  1 , Alexei Moulton  7 , Nigel Ovington  7 , Elisavet Palaiologou  1 , Carmine M Pariante  10 , Shivani Parikh  1 , Alicia J Peel  1 , Ruth K Price  12 , Katharine A Rimes  9 , Henry C Rogers  1 , Jennifer Sambrook  7 , Megan Skelton  1 , Anna Spaul  1 , Eddy L A Suarez  1 , Bronte L Sykes  1 , Keith G Thomas  12 , Allan H Young  10 , Evangelos Vassos  9 , David Veale  10 , Katie M White  1 , Janet Wingrove  14 ; NIHR BioResource consortium; Thalia C Eley  1 , Gerome Breen  15
Affiliations

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

Molly R Davies et al. Behav Res Ther. 2019 Dec.

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.

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Conflict of interest statement

Prof Breen has received honoraria, research or conference grants and consulting fees from Illumina and Otsuka. Prof Eley and Dr Breen are part-funded by a program grant from the UK Medical Research Council (MR/M021475/1). Prof Cleare has in the last three years received honoraria, travel funding, or consultancy fees from Lundbeck, Livanova, Allergan and Janssen. Prof McIntosh has received research support from Eli Lilly, Janssen, and the Sackler Foundation, and has also received speaker fees from Illumina and Janssen. Prof Walters has received grant funding from Takeda for work unrelated to the GLAD Study.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Steps to prepare for launch of the GLAD Study.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
GLAD Study infographic shared on Twitter Example of the infographic shared on Twitter to promote the GLAD study and explain the key steps involved in signing up.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Stages of participant sign-up and involvement in the GLAD Study.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Distribution of sex and age in the GLAD sample compared to the UK population Comparison of age and sex characteristics between the GLAD sample and the general population of the UK as measured in the 2011 census (Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, 2016). Proportions of males in each age group are displayed on the left side of the graph, with female proportions on the right. Percentages represent the proportion out of the respective sample as a whole (GLAD or UK). For example, 2.8% of the UK population is male aged 16–19, compared to 0.7% of the GLAD population. GLAD participants are represented in light (male) and dark (female) shades of blue, while the UK population is represented in light (male) and dark (female) shades of green.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Proportion of individuals with university degrees within age groups in the GLAD sample compared to the English and Welsh population Comparison of education level by age group between the GLAD sample and the general population of England and Wales as measured in the 2011 census (Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, 2016). Data for Northern Ireland and Scotland was not readily available. Proportions of individuals without university degrees within each age group are displayed on the left side of the graph, with proportions of individuals with university degrees on the right. Percentages represent the proportion within each age group with or without a university degree. For example, 14% of the English population between the ages of 16–24 have a university degree compared to 36% of the GLAD population. GLAD participants are represented in dark (no university degree) and light (university degree) shades of blue, while the English/Welsh population is represented in dark (no university degree) and light (university degree) shades of green.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Lifetime prevalence of probable psychiatric disorders in the GLAD sample. Percentages refer to the proportion of participants who meet cut-off criteria on lifetime measures for the specified disorder as defined by the DSM-5 (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) out of the total. Possible mania was assessed by the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) (Hirschfeld, 2002).
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Media campaign drivers to complete questionnaires, by age group. Data is based on responses from 12,714 participants recruited in England between September–December 2019 to assess the success of the launch campaign. Participants were prompted to select all relevant responses to the question “How did you hear about the GLAD Study?” Social media refers to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, bloggers, and search engines. Traditional media refers to radio, TV, newspaper, and online tabloids. All remaining responses are included in the Other category.
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