First published study from Our Future Health data reveals findings
A new study that analysed Our Future Health’s data has revealed that people living with chronic inflammatory conditions may have almost double the risk of mental health issues than others.
The study, by researchers at the University of Edinburgh, was published in BMJ Mental Health. It’s the first time a study using our data has been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Researchers analysed data from 1,563,155 Our Future Health volunteers. They found that self-reported diagnosis of any affective disorder (depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety) was significantly higher among people with autoimmune conditions (28.8%) compared to the general population (17.9%).
A similar trend was observed when the researchers looked at each individual affective disorder.
The study also found that people with autoimmune conditions were more likely to report experiencing symptoms of depression in the two weeks before they filled out their questionnaire (18.6% vs 10.5%) and anxiety (19.9% vs 12.9%).
Its authors were able to reveal these findings because the questionnaire includes a sets of questions known as PHQ-9 and GAD-7, which are designed to assess people for recent symptoms of depression and anxiety respectively. PHQ-9 and GAD-7 are widely used by doctors to identify whether someone is experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety – and how severe their symptoms are.
Although the study did not test for a direct causal mechanism, the analysis of a Our Future Health’s national data set suggests that chronic inflammatory conditions may be linked to a greater risk of mental health issues. Future research should explore potential causal mechanisms for this link.
‘The first study of many using our data’
“It’s fantastic to see the first ever published health discovery using Our Future Health data,” said Dr Raghib Ali OBE, CEO and Chief Medical Officer of Our Future Health. “Our goal is to help researchers make important discoveries about health and this study is already doing just that, by exploring the link between inflammatory conditions and mental health.
“This is the first of many studies that will use our participants’ data to break new ground in the prevention, detection and treatment of health conditions.”
Dr Arish Mudra Rakshasa-Loots from the University of Edinburgh is a co-author of the study. “I’m thrilled to author the first published health study using Our Future Health data,” he said. “Using this large and diverse resource, with data from over 1.5 million participants, has had a huge impact in helping us to better understand the relationship between inflammatory conditions and mental health.
“Now we have established these links, we would like to see further research investigating the factors that may be responsible for the observed increased prevalence of mental health issues among people with autoimmune conditions.”
The world’s largest resource for mental health research
Thanks to the continued support of the UK public, Our Future Health is now the world’s largest data set for mental health research.
Since October 2022, millions of people from across the UK have joined our programme to help health researchers prevent, detect, and treat diseases. As part of the joining process, people are asked to complete our health and lifestyle questionnaire – which includes the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 questions on depression and anxiety symptoms.
This week, we are revealing insights from our data on mental health. As you can see in our in-depth article, 1 in 4 men and 1 in 3 women reported experiencing symptoms of depression in the 2 weeks before they filled out their questionnaire.
1 in 10 people were found to be experiencing symptoms that were ‘moderate’ or ‘severe’.
Our partner’s view
MQ Mental Health Research, the first major charity funding mental health research, is an affiliate charity partner of Our Future Health.
Emily Wheeler, Director of Development and Research Partnerships at MQ, said: “We’re so pleased to be working with Our Future Health and to witness the impact their programme is already having on mental health research. 1 in 4 people are affected by mental health conditions like anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder, so this discovery will help to raise awareness – and open the door for further research into mental health conditions using this resource.”
More about Our Future Health and mental health research
You can read our Spotlight article to find out more about how Our Future Health can help researchers get ahead of the mental health curve.
Health researchers are already studying our data to learn more about mental health diseases. Daniel Smith, who co-authored the first paper, previously called our resource “uniquely powerful”. Professor Cathryn Lewis said it is a “goldmine for studies on depression”.
Our Future Health is partnered with MQ, a charity that funds scientific research into mental health. To find out more about their work, visit mqmentalhealth.org.
Let’s prevent disease together
By volunteering for Our Future Health, you can help health researchers discover new ways to prevent, detect and treat common conditions such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, stroke and Alzheimer’s.