An observational study in Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), sponsored by Shanghai Mental Health Center. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in China. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-10.
Sponsored by Shanghai Mental Health Center · Observational
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a common mental health condition characterized by persistent and excessive worry that is difficult to control. It can affect sleep, daily functioning, work, and quality of life. Some individuals experience long-lasting or recurrent symptoms, but the factors that influence the course and outcome of GAD are still not fully understood.
The main purpose of this study is to establish a long-term cohort of people with GAD and to better understand how their symptoms and health change over time. The study will also explore factors that may help predict symptom improvement, recurrence, and treatment outcomes.
Approximately 400 adults with GAD who receive care at Shanghai Mental Health Center will participate in this study. Participants will undergo regular clinical assessments and follow-up visits.
During the study, researchers will collect information about participants' symptoms, medical and treatment history, blood samples, and brain-related measurements. Participants will be followed at several time points to observe changes in symptoms and health. The information collected will be used to better understand the course of GAD and to support the development of more individualized approaches to diagnosis, treatment, and long-term care.
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a heterogeneous psychiatric disorder with substantial variation in clinical presentation, treatment response, disease course, and risk of recurrence. Current diagnosis and clinical management are mainly based on clinical interviews and symptom assessments, while objective markers that can assist in diagnosis, assessment of disease severity, and prediction of long-term outcomes remain limited. This prospective cohort study is designed to characterize the longitudinal course of GAD and to integrate clinical and biological information collected over time.
Participants enrolled in the cohort will receive treatment according to routine clinical practice rather than being assigned to a specific intervention by the study protocol. Information on current treatments, including pharmacological, psychological, and physical treatments, will be recorded during follow-up. Changes in anxiety symptoms, associated symptoms, treatment response, adverse events, and other clinical characteristics will be assessed longitudinally. The study will examine patterns of symptom change and identify factors associated with persistence, recurrence, treatment response, and prognosis.
A multimodal data collection framework will be used to characterize GAD from complementary clinical and biological perspectives. In addition to demographic, clinical, medical, treatment, and family-history information, the study will collect blood samples and multiple types of brain-related data. These include electroencephalography, magnetic resonance imaging, magnetoencephalography, and functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Computerized neuropsychological assessments will be used to evaluate cognitive domains such as executive function, decision-making, reward processing, and emotion recognition. Dynamic information such as heart rate variability, sleep patterns, and changes in emotional state will also be collected.
Participants will undergo repeated follow-up assessments after baseline. Follow-up visits are scheduled at weeks 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 36, and 48, followed by an additional one-year extended follow-up. At these visits, researchers will assess changes in symptoms and current treatment, record adverse events, and collect selected clinical, blood, electrophysiological, neuroimaging, neuropsychological, and real-time health data according to the study schedule.
By integrating longitudinal clinical information with multimodal biological data, this study aims to characterize the clinical course of GAD, explore potential objective biomarkers, identify factors associated with treatment response and prognosis, and develop models for individualized outcome prediction. The resulting longitudinal database is expected to provide a foundation for risk stratification and more individualized approaches to the diagnosis, treatment, and long-term management of GAD.
517 studies on the registry are indexed under Generalized Anxiety Disorder; 124 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 400 is above the median of 270 across 62 observational studies indexed under Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
Browse Generalized Anxiety Disorder studies →Shanghai Mental Health Center is the lead sponsor of 272 studies on the registry; 91 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
The study population will include patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) receiving outpatient or inpatient care at Shanghai Mental Health Center, including both first-episode and non-first-episode GAD. Potential participants will be identified through clinical screening and assessed for eligibility by trained research personnel. Approximately 400 participants will be enrolled and followed prospectively.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Meets the ICD-10 diagnostic criteria for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Aged 18 to 65 years. Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA) total score >14. Has at least a junior high school education and is able to complete self-report questionnaires.
Voluntarily agrees to participate in the study and provides written .
Exclusion Criteria:
Meets ICD-10 diagnostic criteria for any psychiatric disorder other than GAD, as assessed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.).
Has significant suicidal ideation or is considered to be at high risk of suicide.
Has a medical condition or clinically significant laboratory abnormalities.
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Judged by the study doctor to matter for your health or for the study. It is a doctor’s decision, so ask the study team if you are unsure whether something counts.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Clinically significant
Judged by the study doctor to matter for your health or for the study. It is a doctor’s decision, so ask the study team if you are unsure whether something counts.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Participants diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) who receive routine clinical care. No specific treatment or intervention is assigned by the study protocol. Participants will be followed longitudinally, and information on clinical symptoms, treatments, blood samples, and multimodal neurophysiological and neuroimaging measures will be collected according to the study schedule.
Change in Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA) Total Score From Baseline
The Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA) is a clinician-rated scale used to assess the severity of anxiety symptoms. The scale consists of 14 items, each rated from 0 to 4, resulting in a total score ranging from 0 to 56. Higher scores indicate greater severity of anxiety symptoms. Changes in HAMA total scores from baseline will be assessed during follow-up.
Time frame: Baseline; Weeks 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 36, and 48; and 1-year extended follow-up
Plan to share: No
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Start is estimated for Dec 2026; primary completion for Jun 2028, 18 months later.
Of 24 observational studies under Generalized Anxiety Disorder, half reached primary completion within 17 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 9 and three quarters within 56. This study's planned 18 months is close to that.
Start moved once since we started tracking on Sep 25, 2026: Aug 2026 → Dec 2026, on Nov 10, 2026.
Earlier changes are on the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Aug 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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