London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Academic Institute

OFHS240171

This study aims to understand how and why people respond differently to medicines used to treat common health conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, depression, anxiety, and symptoms of menopause. We want to learn: 1. Who is receiving these medicines, and how this varies across age, sex, ethnicity, and health background. 2. Whether differences in our genes affect which medicines work best or cause side effects. We will use information from Our Future Health participants, including their health records, genetic information, and questionnaire answers, to help doctors better match treatments to people — so that care is safer, more effective, and fairer for everyone. Today, doctors often rely on trial and error when choosing a medicine for a patient. This can lead to unwanted side effects, delays in finding the right treatment, and higher healthcare costs. Even though many people take medicines for conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, depression, anxiety, and menopause symptoms, we still don’t fully understand why some people benefit from a treatment, while others experience side effects. This study will look at how medicines are being used across different groups of people, and whether a person’s genes affect how well a medicine works for them. The conditions we will study are some of the biggest contributors to poor health and early death in the UK, and menopause is an important area that has often been overlooked in research. By linking information about prescriptions, health measurements, survey responses, and genetics, we can better understand who is getting which medicines, how well they are working, and what side effects they might cause. The results could help doctors make better, more personalised prescribing decisions in the future, making treatments safer, fairer, and more effective for everyone.

This research will benefit the public by improving how medicines are used to treat common health conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, depression, anxiety, and symptoms of menopause. The findings will help: - Healthcare providers select safer and more effective treatments tailored to each individual, reducing trial-and-error prescribing. - Policymakers design guidelines and services that promote more equitable access to effective treatments across diverse groups. - Patients and their families better understand how treatments may work for them and what options are available. - Researchers identify genetic factors that influence medication use and response, supporting future development of personalised medicine. The study makes unique use of Our Future Health data, linking genetic, clinical, and self-reported information to answer questions that are difficult to address using any single one of these data sources alone. In the long term, this research aims to improve health outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and support a more personalised approach to medicine.

Public Health Research

14/10/2025

08/10/2025

TRE