Watch this short video featuring Living with Anxiety (LwA) study Co-Investigator and Head of Genetic Epidemiology, QIMR Berghofer, Brisbane, reflecting on genetic sample screening’s role in understanding anxiety disorders and improving patient treatment responses.
Genetic research is unlocking new possibilities for understanding and treating anxiety disorders. Prof Martin explains how the Living with Anxiety (LwA) study aims to uncover the genetic and environmental factors influencing anxiety, paving the way for more effective treatments.
“By understanding the genes, we can understand the biochemistry. You can understand the neurochemistry, what’s going on in the brain.
“We can design new drugs, better drugs than those that are currently available. So there really is the prospect of finding much better treatments than we knew in the past.
“The LwA study is going to look at the genetic and environmental determinants of anxiety disorders in the Australian community. These affect about 20% of females and about 10% of males,” Prof Martin said.
Prof Martin explains how anxiety impacts quality of life and how new treatment options can be created through the analysis of genetics.
“LwA study is important because, anxiety really is a major public health concern – it causes a huge, number of days off work and other, hits on productivity.
“The treatments for it are not very good. They’re not very specific. And we think we could do a lot better if we understood a lot more about the genetic causes of it,” Prof Martin said.
Although anxiety disorders are common, their underlying causes, and optimal treatments represent areas of ongoing research. By combining genetic insights with personal experiences, scientists are hoping to revolutionise how anxiety is treated, by making interventions more targeted, and effective.
If you have been diagnosed with, or treated for an anxiety disorder, please consider volunteering for the Living with Anxiety (LwA) study to help researchers identify the genes influencing a person’s risk of developing anxiety, and how well treatments work.
To volunteer, head to: livingwithanxiety.org.au or email lwa@qimrberghofer.edu.au.
