Living with Anxiety (LwA) study digital media kit 

FOR IMMEDIATE USE, TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2025

MEDIA ALERT

FOR IMMEDIATE USE, TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2025

                                                                                                        

Unravelling the genetic code of anxiety disorders

AUS researchers seeking 5,000 adults diagnosed with anxiety
for groundbreaking ‘Living with Anxiety’ genetics study​

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Aussie researchers will call for 5,000 adult (18+ years)

volunteers diagnosed with, or treated for an anxiety

disorder, for their groundbreaking Living with Anxiety

(LwA) study today (Tuesday, March 18, 2025).

 

The LwA study aims to identify genes that influence a

person’s risk of developing anxiety, and response to

treatment, with the goal of improving diagnosis,

management and treatment.

 

The researchers’ appeal for volunteers will coincide

with the publication of their article in MJA Insight+,

explaining how the LwA study is promising to pave the way toward more personalised and optimised anxiety disorder treatments.1

 

Anxiety disorders:

• affect 3.4 million Australians aged 16-85 years each year;1

• represent the nation’s most common mental health condition;1

• present in various forms;2

• are often associated with other conditions, such as depression;1

• can significantly compromise daily functioning and overall wellbeing;1, 3-5

• and depressive disorders are among the most common reasons patients visit their GP.6

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While psychological therapies are usually the first, and most effective treatment option7 for these
life-disrupting anxiety disorders,8 medication is also commonly prescribed. Finding the right medication can, however, prove time-consuming and complex.9

 

Around one-in-five people who take medication for their anxiety experience distressing side-effects,10 which often leads to treatment cessation,11 while up to 65 per cent may fail to respond to prescribed treatments due to their genetic make-up.12

 

Large scale studies like the LwA study are crucial for advancing the science of how our DNA influences medication responses.13

 

Unravelling the genetics of anxiety disorders will enable the development of new, and more effective, personalised treatments, better able to target the problem directly.

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To learn more about the LwA study and the MJA Insight+ article, tee up an interview with a spokesperson overleaf.  

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To volunteer for the Living with Anxiety (LwA) study, head to livingwithanxiety.org.au or email lwa@qimrb.edu.au.

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