# The genetic architecture of youth anxiety: a study protocol

## TL;DR

This paper outlines a large Canadian study to understand the genetic factors behind anxiety disorders in youth, aiming to improve early intervention and treatment.

## Contribution

The study introduces a large-scale, pan-Canadian genomic effort to identify novel genetic risk loci for youth anxiety disorders.

## Key findings

- The GAYA study will recruit 13,000 youth aged 10–19 to investigate genetic risk factors for anxiety disorders.
- The study will assess how genetic risk for anxiety is unique or shared across developmental stages.
- Findings may lead to novel therapeutic targets and personalized care strategies for youth anxiety.

## Abstract

Anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric problems among Canadian youth and typically have an onset in childhood or adolescence. They are characterized by high rates of relapse and chronicity, often resulting in substantial impairment across the lifespan. Genetic factors play an important role in the vulnerability toward anxiety disorders. However, genetic contribution to anxiety in youth is not well understood and can change across developmental stages. Large-scale genetic studies of youth are needed with detailed assessments of symptoms of anxiety disorders and their major comorbidities to inform early intervention or preventative strategies and suggest novel targets for therapeutics and personalization of care.

The Genetic Architecture of Youth Anxiety (GAYA) study is a Pan-Canadian effort of clinical and genetic experts with specific recruitment sites in Calgary, Halifax, Hamilton, Toronto, and Vancouver. Youth aged 10–19 (n = 13,000) will be recruited from both clinical and community settings and will provide saliva samples, complete online questionnaires on demographics, symptoms of mental health concerns, and behavioural inhibition, and complete neurocognitive tasks. A subset of youth will be offered access to a self-managed Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy resource. Analyses will focus on the identification of novel genetic risk loci for anxiety disorders in youth and assess how much of the genetic risk for anxiety disorders is unique or shared across the life span.

Results will substantially inform early intervention or preventative strategies and suggest novel targets for therapeutics and personalization of care. Given that the GAYA study will be the biggest genomic study of anxiety disorders in youth in Canada, this project will further foster collaborations nationally and across the world.