King's College London

Academic Institute

OFHS250124

Mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and schizophrenia, are common and distressing. Current treatments help many people, but they do not work well for everyone and often cannot prevent future periods of mental ill-health. One reason is that we lack a clear understanding of why people develop mental health conditions. We also do not fully understand why people with the same condition respond so differently to the same treatment. To help address these gaps, we aim to combine genetic, clinical, and self-reported information to: 1. Identify the genetic differences and life experiences that increase the risk of developing mental health conditions. 2. Learn what influences how long periods of mental ill-health last, why they reoccur, and how well different treatments work for different people. 3. Understand why certain groups, such as men and women, are affected differently. 4. Predict who is at higher risk of developing specific mental health conditions, how their condition may change over time, and the best available treatment for each individual. Our Future Health’s scale and diversity will allow us to address these aims across a wide range of mental health conditions and among people from different ethnic and social backgrounds. Mental health conditions can develop for many reasons. These include stressful life events, the social environment, lifestyle factors, and inherited differences in people’s DNA. Despite this knowledge, we don’t fully understand what causes specific conditions or why they vary so much between people. People with the same diagnosis can have different symptoms, recover at different speeds, and respond differently to treatment. Some conditions are more common in certain groups, with rates differing by sex or ethnic background. For example, women are more likely to experience depression, anxiety, and eating disorders, while men have higher rates of ADHD and schizophrenia. In the UK, people of Black or Black-British ethnicity are more likely to experience schizophrenia. The reasons for these differences remain unclear. To improve mental health care, we need to better understand how genetics and life experiences influence these conditions. This will help us to identify who may be at higher risk of developing certain conditions, who may experience repeated or longer periods of mental ill-health, and which treatments may work best for each person. We will combine genetic data, participant-provided information, and NHS records from Our Future Health to better understand these factors and support improved outcomes for those affected.

Mental health conditions are distressing and can affect relationships, work, and overall quality of life. Treatment for many mental health conditions involves trial and error. For example, someone may try several antidepressants before finding one that helps. For other conditions, including eating disorders, effective options remain limited. It is also difficult to predict who may go on to develop additional mental or physical health problems. To give people the right support, we need to better understand what causes mental health conditions and why they affect people differently. By studying these conditions across diverse populations, we aim to produce evidence that can help predict risk, guide treatment decisions, and improve outcomes for everyone. For example, this study will help us understand: - Why some people respond well to antidepressants, while others do not, and how genes, life experiences, and overall health play a role. - Whether people with different conditions, such as depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder, benefit differently from the same treatment. - How genes and life experiences affect physical health and life expectancy for people with schizophrenia. - Which people with childhood-onset conditions, like ADHD, are more likely to develop additional mental health conditions later in life.

Public Health Research

16/10/2026

27/05/2026

TRE