Q. What will the online questionnaire ask me about?
http://cambridge.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eA67mU5Y6CkNjLM?Source=CCNRThe online questionnaire consists of 6 question sessions. These question sessions will ask you about your past and present mood, demographic details, lifestyle, personality, psychiatric history, general medical conditions, and other factors. The questionnaire assesses for symptoms of major depression, bipolar disorder, and other psychiatric conditions.
Q. Why was I excluded after filling the consent form?
There are several potential reasons why you may have been excluded:
- Your profile may not fully meet the eligibility criteria specified for inclusion in this study.
- The depressive symptoms you reported might not have reached the required threshold for participation.
- If you disclosed experiencing suicidal thoughts, this would lead to your exclusion for safety reasons. We would instead advise you to contact your GP or the Samaritans (http://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help-you/contact-us) by dialling 116 123. If you feel you are unable to keep yourself safe, call the NHS mental health line by dialling 111. If you urgently need help or support, call 999 or go to A&E. If you are unable to call or unable to get there by yourself, please ask someone to call on your behalf or take you.
- You may not have agreed to all the necessary conditions listed in the consent form.
If you believe you were excluded mistakenly, please revisit the main website and try to sign up again.
Q. What is the dried blood spot collection kit?
The kit will provide you with all the materials you need to collect a dried blood spot sample at home. If you are selected to donate a blood spot sample, the kit will be mailed to your address. The kit takes approximately 15 minutes in the morning to complete. You will also be sent a prepaid envelope to return the kit to us for analysis once you have completed it. Please note that not all participants will receive a blood collection kit. After processing your answers to the online questionnaire, the study team will confirm by email if you are selected to receive a kit.
Q. How will I know if I have been selected to receive a blood spot collection kit?
If you have been selected to donate a blood sample, we will get in touch with you by email so that you can tell us where to send your blood spot collection kit. In that case, it may take anywhere from several days to several weeks after completing the questionnaire before you hear from us.
Q. How will you know which sample came from which participant? The blood spot collection kit I received does not ask about my participant ID.
Each dried blood spot collection card is labelled with a unique barcode assigned to only one participant. We will match samples to participants based on these barcodes.
Q. What will my report be based on?
The report will be based on your answers from the online questionnaire and our machine learning algorithm that can distinguish bipolar disorder from major depressive disorder in people with current depressive symptoms. The algorithm was developed in our previous study, and was 84% accurate in detecting bipolar disorder when compared to a diagnostic interview developed by the World Health Organisation, called the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. You can find more details about the algorithm here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-020-01181-x.
Q. Will the blood marker results be included in the report?
No, blood biomarker results will not be considered in the report, even if you have donated a blood sample. This is because the blood test is still under development.
Q. Can your algorithm distinguish subtypes of bipolar disorder, such as bipolar I or II?
No, the algorithm will only indicate how likely you are to have bipolar disorder on a scale from 0 to 100%, without specifying its subtypes. It will also state which of your answers contributed most to this prediction. It is important to understand that the result from the algorithm is not a diagnosis. An accurate diagnosis can only be made by a medical professional in-person.
Q. How long will it take to receive my results report?
All study participants will receive their results reports at the same time, once the study recruitment phase has completed. We estimate that the recruitment phase will take about 3 months to complete.
Q. How can I contact you if I have more questions?
You can contact us by email at ccnr@ceb.cam.ac.uk.