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McAusland L, Burton CL, Bagnell A, Boylan K, Hatchard T, Lingley-Pottie P, Al Maruf A, McGrath P, Newton AS, Rowa K, Schachar RJ, Shaheen SM, Stewart S, Arnold PD, Crosbie J, Mattheisen M, Soreni N, Stewart SE, Meier S. The genetic architecture of youth anxiety: a study protocol. BMC Psychiatry 2024; 24:159. [PMID: 38395805 PMCID: PMC10885620 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-024-05583-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 02/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric problems among Canadian youth and typically have an onset in childhood or adolescence. They are characterized by high rates of relapse and chronicity, often resulting in substantial impairment across the lifespan. Genetic factors play an important role in the vulnerability toward anxiety disorders. However, genetic contribution to anxiety in youth is not well understood and can change across developmental stages. Large-scale genetic studies of youth are needed with detailed assessments of symptoms of anxiety disorders and their major comorbidities to inform early intervention or preventative strategies and suggest novel targets for therapeutics and personalization of care. METHODS The Genetic Architecture of Youth Anxiety (GAYA) study is a Pan-Canadian effort of clinical and genetic experts with specific recruitment sites in Calgary, Halifax, Hamilton, Toronto, and Vancouver. Youth aged 10-19 (n = 13,000) will be recruited from both clinical and community settings and will provide saliva samples, complete online questionnaires on demographics, symptoms of mental health concerns, and behavioural inhibition, and complete neurocognitive tasks. A subset of youth will be offered access to a self-managed Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy resource. Analyses will focus on the identification of novel genetic risk loci for anxiety disorders in youth and assess how much of the genetic risk for anxiety disorders is unique or shared across the life span. DISCUSSION Results will substantially inform early intervention or preventative strategies and suggest novel targets for therapeutics and personalization of care. Given that the GAYA study will be the biggest genomic study of anxiety disorders in youth in Canada, this project will further foster collaborations nationally and across the world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laina McAusland
- The Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
| | - Christie L Burton
- Neurosciences & Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Alexa Bagnell
- Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Khrista Boylan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Offord Center for Child Studies, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Child and Youth Mental Health Program, Hamilton Health Sciences, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Taylor Hatchard
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Youth Wellness Center, St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Patricia Lingley-Pottie
- Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, IWK Health Centre, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Abdullah Al Maruf
- The Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- College of Pharmacy, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Patrick McGrath
- Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Amanda S Newton
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Karen Rowa
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Anxiety Treatment and Research Clinic, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Russell J Schachar
- Neurosciences & Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - S-M Shaheen
- The Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Sam Stewart
- Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Paul D Arnold
- The Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Jennifer Crosbie
- Neurosciences & Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Manuel Mattheisen
- Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
- Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
- Department of Computer Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Noam Soreni
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Offord Center for Child Studies, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Anxiety Treatment and Research Clinic, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Pediatric OCD Consultation Service, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - S Evelyn Stewart
- British Columbia Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Sandra Meier
- Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
- Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
- Department of Computer Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
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