| Title: | Genetics and genetic epidemiology of brain-related traits and disorders, and their interplay with physical health |
| Lead Institution: | King's College London |
| Principal investigator: | Dr Jonathan Coleman |
Application 82087
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About
Mental illness is the main cause of disability in the UK and globally. Most people suffering from a mental illness do not get treated, and not everyone who receives treatment gets better. Part of the reason that some people develop mental illness while others do not is that there are differences between people in their DNA (known as genetic variants). Some genetic variants are more common in people suffering from mental illness than in people who are mentally well. These genetic variants do not cause mental illness independently, but seem to act together with features of the environment, like stress and traumatic events, to increase the risk of someone developing a mental illness. Similarly, differences in how much better people get after treatment for mental illness might also be related to genetic variants and to certain environmental features. We will use information about mental illness and related traits in the UK Biobank to understand more about which genetic variants are more common in people with mental illness, and how they might work with environmental features to increase the risk of someone developing a mental illness. We will also study genetic variants that are more common in people who get better after treatment for mental illness compared to people who do not. We will also look at biological measures like biomarkers and metabolomics, and brain imaging, to assess their role in mental illness. We will combine our results with results from other large studies to identify these variants of interest. We will also build mathematical models to try to understand how these variants act biologically to increase the chances of developing a mental illness, or make a person more likely to get better following treatment. Finally, we will use the rich data on environmental features provided by UK Biobank to understand how the way these variants work changes when people are in different environments. Ultimately, we aim to increase our understanding of how mental illness occurs, and so provide new information for designing new treatments. We hope that what we learn from this three-year project will improve the lives of those suffering from mental illness.1 Publication
| Pub ID | Title | Author(s) | Year | Journal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11961 | The impact of major depressive disorder on glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes: a longitudinal cohort study using UK Biobank primary care records | Alexandra C. Gillett (+7) | 2024 | BMC Medicine |
Enabling scientific discoveries that improve human health