ARBOR v2.4
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Anxiety as a Risk Factor in Bipolar Offspring
IRAS ID
265508
Contact name
Vanessa Buckley
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King’s College London
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 8 months, 27 days
Research summary
How does anxiety work as a risk factor the the children of people who have bipolar disorder?
Why
Bipolar disorder is a severe mental illness that affects up to 4% of the population. It can cause problems for individuals in nearly every aspect of their life. It usually starts in adolescence but is hard to recognise. Many people wait over ten years to get the right treatment. Unfortunately, symptoms can get worse when left untreated. If we could intervene earlier, we could improve symptoms and prevent some problems from beginning at all.What
Our approach will study young people who have a parent with bipolar disorder because it tends to run in families. If people with this family history also have anxiety problems when they are young, they are much more likely to develop bipolar disorder in adulthood. This research will study how anxiety works as a risk factor. This information will then be used to design a new psychological intervention targeting anxiety.Who
120 adolescents will participate in the study along with their parents. 60 parent/child pairs will consist of an adult with bipolar disorder and their child, whilst the other 60 will have a parent who does not have bipolar disorder and their child.
Where
This study is funded by Health Education England and the National Institute of Health Research. It is based at King’s College London. Participants will be recruited through NHS services in London and through online advertising.How
Participants will complete self-report measures and clinical assessments. They will also take part in experiments designed to study anxiety. We will ask them to track their anxiety over time using their smartphone. Finally, they will provide samples of their saliva so that we can measure cortisol, the body’s stress hormone. Participants will be followed up after a year to see what has changed.REC name
London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/1670
Date of REC Opinion
6 Dec 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion