Overview

The Genetic Links to Anxiety and Depression (GLAD) Study was launched in 2018 to examine genetic and environmental factors underlying depression and anxiety in order to achieve better understanding and more effective treatments for these disorders. 1 in 3 people living in the UK will experience either disorder across their lifetime, and through GLAD, we aim to provide hope for a brighter future for those with these mental health struggles.

The project is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Mental Health BioResource, led predominantly by researchers at King’s College London (KCL). Additional collaborating sites include Queen’s University Belfast, University of Edinburgh, and Cardiff University. In order to access GLAD data, you will need to enter into two separate agreements with both King’s College London, and the NIHR BioResource.

GLAD is a valuable source of data, comprising both genotypic and phenotypic data for cases of anxiety and depression. Eligibility for GLAD is UK participants, over the age of 16, with prior or current individual experience of clinical anxiety and/or depression. A diagnosis is not needed to take part. In a sister dataset, COPING (COvid-19 PsychIatry and Neurological Genetics), we have pandemic-related data for the GLAD cohort. In Spring 2022, GLAD intends to recruit control participants with no experience of anxiety or depression into GLAD, and a further long-term goal of recruiting participants under the age of 16. These additional datasets and proposed future plans will only enhance GLAD’s existing potential as a valuable scientific resource.