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Lay Summary: Genetic Research and Mental Health Data

Understanding mental health—and the many factors that influence it—requires large amounts of detailed information. To help with this, researchers in Scotland created a new project called the SHARE Mental Health (SHARE-MH) cohort.

What is it?
SHARE-MH is a large group of volunteers who have agreed to share information about their mental health through surveys, medical records, and genetic data. This unique combination of information gives researchers a powerful tool to study mental health over time and in different settings, like hospitals and clinics.

Who is involved?
The participants are adults living in Scotland who signed up through the Scottish Health Research Register (SHARE). Everyone gave permission for their health records and leftover blood samples (taken during routine care) to be used in research.

What’s been done so far?
Between February and November 2021, nearly 10,000 people completed an online mental health survey. This survey collected information on mental health symptoms, diagnoses, treatment experiences, and how mental health affects daily life. These responses have been securely connected to participants’ medical records and genetic information using a unique identifier.

Why is this important?
This linked dataset helps researchers study how genes and life experiences influence mental health, how people use healthcare services, and how self-reported experiences compare with official medical records.

What’s next?
The information donated by participants will support cutting-edge mental health research in Scotland and beyond, contributing to our understanding of the causes of mental illness and how best to treat it. It will also help make the case for better recording of mental health in electronic health records, highlighting the aspects of a patient’s journey that are not adequately captured in current data.

The original article can be found at: https://doi.org/10.7488/ds/7491
Iveson MH, Ball EL, Doherty J, Pugh C, Vashishta S, Palmer CNA, McIntosh A.
2024. ‘Cohort profile: The Scottish SHARE Mental Health (SHARE-MH) cohort – linkable survey, genetic and routinely collected data for mental health research’, BMJ Open. 12;14(1):e078246. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-078246. 

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