In a study of the psychological consequences of myocardial infarction on 65 wives of husbands admitted to a coronary care unit feelings of loss, depression, and guilt were common at the time of infarction. Many wives (38%) found the period of convalescence after discharge very stressful, attributing this to fears of a recurrent infarct and marital tension owing to their husbands' increased irritability and dependency. These anxieties and tensions gradually diminished and at one year after the initial illness only eight wives whose husbands had made a good physical recovery still showed considerable psychological disturbance. It is suggested that unnecessary emotional distress, particularly in the initial period after discharge from hospital, can be alleviated by increased help and support from the hospital and family doctor.

BackgroundAnxiety and depression are common, debilitating and costly. These disorders are influenced by multiple risk factors, from genes to psychological vulnerabilities and environmental stressors, but research is hampered by a lack of sufficiently large comprehensive studies. We are recruiting 40,000 individuals with lifetime depression or anxiety and broad assessment of risks to facilitate future research.MethodsThe Genetic Links to Anxiety and Depression (GLAD) Study (www.gladstudy.org.uk) recruits individuals with depression or anxiety into the NIHR Mental Health BioResource. Participants invited to join the study (via media campaigns) provide demographic, environmental and genetic data, and consent for medical record linkage and recontact.ResultsOnline recruitment was effective; 42,531 participants consented and 27,776 completed the questionnaire by end of July 2019. Participants’ questionnaire data identified very high rates of recurrent depression, severe anxiety, and comorbidity. Participants reported high rates of treatment receipt. The age profile of the sample is biased toward young adults, with higher recruitment of females and the more educated, especially at younger ages.DiscussionThis paper describes the study methodology and descriptive data for GLAD, which represents a large, recontactable resource that will enable future research into risks, outcomes, and treatment for anxiety and depression.

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Background: Anxiety and depression are common, debilitating and costly. These disorders are influenced by multiple risk factors, from genes to psychological vulnerabilities and environmental stressors but research is hampered by a lack of sufficiently large comprehensive studies. We are recruiting 40,000 individuals with lifetime depression or anxiety, with broad assessment of risks to facilitate future research. Methods: The Genetic Links to Anxiety and Depression (GLAD) Study (www.gladstudy.org.uk) recruits individuals with depression or anxiety into the NIHR Mental Health BioResource. Participants invited to join the study (via media campaigns) provide demographic, environmental and genetic data, and consent for medical record linkage and recontact. Results: Online recruitment was effective; 41,892 consented and 26,877 participants completed the questionnaire by July 2019. Participants' questionnaire data identified very high rates recurrent depression, severe anxiety and comorbidity. Participants reported high rates of treatment receipt. The age profile of sample is biased toward young adults, with higher recruitment of females and the better educated, especially at younger ages. Discussion: This paper describes the study methodology and descriptive data for GLAD, which represents a large, recontactable resource that will enable future research into risks, outcomes and treatment for anxiety and depression.