Be GLAD: The UK’s Largest Study of Anxiety and Depression

By Isa Arellano

As we become increasingly aware of mental health issues like depression and anxiety, there becomes a growing need to study them in professional research settings. Modern understandings of mental health issues like depression and anxiety have only been addressed as neurological problems that have physiological and chemical causes in addition to psychological ones in relatively recent history. With the mental health awareness movement becoming more popular in recent years, especially amongst students, there has been an increasing number of researchers and scientists who are studying the causes, effects, and treatments for mental health disorders, including the staff right here at Queen’s.

Dr. Cherie Armour is a trauma psychologist and professor of psychological trauma and mental health here at Queen’s University Belfast who specialises in the mental health of individuals who have experienced some form of mental stress, adversity, or trauma. [1] As a mental health and trauma researcher, Dr. Armour is involved in many academic projects, including being the director of QUB’s own Research Centre for Stress, Trauma, & Related Conditions (STARC), which was established only seven years ago in 2019. [2] Even more recently, Dr. Armour has been involved in one of the UK’s most ambitious projects as the lead of its Northern Ireland correspondance: the Genetic Links to Anxiety and Depression study—also known as the GLAD study.

What is the GLAD study? 

The GLAD study was originally started in 2018 by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Mental Health BioResource and researchers at King’s College London, led by Professor Gerome Breen. [3] Since then, the project has expanded to collaborate with institutions all over the UK, including the University of Edinburgh, Cardiff University, and our very own Queen’s University Belfast. 

The project aims to explore “risk factors for depression and/or anxiety” through studying the psychological, medical, and genetic information of voluntary participants. Currently, GLAD has over 95,000 participants. Most people can sign up to be a participant in GLAD if they are over sixteen and live in the UK, even if they don’t have a mental illness. In fact, they want people with no history of anxiety or depression to be participants so they can cross-reference data with people who do in order to determine which genetic and environmental factors contribute to mental health issues. 

To find and research data on how genetics influence mental health disorders, they look at participants’ medical records, questionnaires, and saliva samples. This information—which GLAD stresses is used only for research and complies with the Data Protection Act of 2018—is what they use to build the database for research projects and other studies, with sensitive information regarding personal details being redacted. [4]

While research is still ongoing, the vast amount of data available to scientists ensures that there is a wealth of information available for them to study. So far, twenty separate publications have been released using data from the GLAD study. These papers include research on how age and sex change the presentation of anxiety and depression symptoms [5]; genetic links between eating disorders and suicidal ideation [6]; and the effects COVID-19 had on depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms [7]. 

What’s Next? 

GLAD continues to accept participants for their database to this day, which contributes to the growing research for mental health disorders. As we continue to build on existing knowledge, we can develop greater understandings about how mental health disorders work, who they effect, and ultimately how to help those who struggle with them. 

References: 

[1] “Cherie Armour.” 2016. Queen’s University Belfast. 2016. https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/persons/cherie-armour/. 

[2] “Centre for Stress, Trauma and Related Conditions | Queen’s University Belfast.” 2022. Qub.ac.uk. July 2022. https://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/starc/. 

[3] “The Genetic Links to Anxiety and Depression (GLAD) Study.” 2018. Nihr.ac.uk. 2018. https://www.maudsleybrc.nihr.ac.uk/stories-of-research/genetic-links-to-anxiety-and-depression-glad-study/. 

[4] “Genetic Links to Anxiety & Depression.” 2018. Gladstudy.org.uk. King’s College London. 2018. https://gladstudy.org.uk/about. 

[5] Thompson, Katherine N., Christopher Hübel, Rosa Cheesman, Brett N. Adey, Chérie Armour, Molly R. Davies, Matthew Hotopf, et al. 2021. “Age and Sex‐Related Variability in the Presentation of Generalized Anxiety and Depression Symptoms.” Depression and Anxiety 38 (10): 1054–65. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.23213. 

[6] Musial, Agnieszka, Una Foye, Saakshi Kakar, Tom Jewell, Janet Treasure, Gursharan Kalsi, Iona Smith, et al. 2025. “Genomic Links between Symptoms of Eating Disorders and Suicidal Ideation.” European Psychiatry 68 (1). https://doi.org/10.1192/j.eurpsy.2025.25. 

[7] Young, K. S., K. L. Purves, C. Hübel, M. R. Davies, K. N. Thompson, S. Bristow, G. Krebs, et al. 2022. “Depression, Anxiety and PTSD Symptoms before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the UK.” Psychological Medicine 53 (12): 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291722002501.