Genetics behind anxiety and its overlap with other mental health conditions
Official title: Investigating the Genomic Architecture of Anxiety and Overlap with Mental Health Disorders in the Million Veteran Program.
Funded at VA Connecticut Healthcare System · NIH-11131014 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project searches for genetic differences that help explain why people develop anxiety and related mental health conditions, using large groups of veterans and other volunteers.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | VA Connecticut Healthcare System NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (West Haven, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2021 |
| Project end | July 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| NIH project number | 5IK2BX005058-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11131014 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with a history of anxiety, PTSD, or major depression—particularly U.S. military veterans or volunteers already enrolled in MVP, All of Us, or UK Biobank—would be the most relevant participants for these datasets.
✕Less likely to help
People seeking immediate changes to their clinical care or those without genetic data/enrollment in the cited cohorts are unlikely to see direct short-term benefit from this study.
What this research studies
If you have anxiety or related mental health conditions, researchers will combine DNA and health records from hundreds of thousands of volunteers in the Million Veteran Program, UK Biobank, and All of Us to look for genetic differences linked to those conditions. They will run genome-wide searches for genetic variants and compare results across sex and ancestry groups, including looking at sex chromosomes. The teams will compare findings across the different cohorts to find shared and unique genetic signals that may explain co-occurring disorders like depression and PTSD. This work uses existing genetic and clinical data rather than testing new treatments, so participation generally means consenting to genetic analysis and data sharing in one of the cohorts.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could reveal genetic markers that improve risk prediction, clarify why anxiety co-occurs with other disorders, and point to new targets for treatments.
How similar studies have gone: Large-scale genetic studies have found some psychiatric risk variants before, but anxiety-specific and ancestry- or sex-specific findings remain limited, so this builds on prior work but addresses gaps.
Where this research is happening
-
VA Connecticut Healthcare System
West Haven, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Levey, Daniel F — VA Connecticut Healthcare System
- Study coordinator: Levey, Daniel F
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.