Cohort Profile Update: Mental Health Online Survey in the Estonian Biobank (EstBB MHoS)

Mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse and stress-related problems, are common in populations worldwide.It has been estimated that $30% of people are affected by a mental disorder during their lifetime. 2These disorders are associated with a notable societal burden, including reduced quality of life, increased healthcare costs and loss of productivity. 3However, psychiatric disorders are characterized by significant clinical heterogeneity and frequently exhibit a considerable overlap of symptoms and comorbidities across disorders that complicates clinical decision-making, thus affecting patient outcomes.In addition, the genetic investigations of psychiatric disorders are also affected by this heterogeneity.Non-specific phenotypes may lead to non-specific associations in genome-wide studies, Key Features• The Estonian Biobank (EstBB) is a population-based biobank cohort that currently comprises >212 000 individuals, representing $20%of the adult population in Estonia.EstBB is linked to and regularly updated with the national electronic health records (EHRs).• The Mental Health Online Survey (EstBB MHoS) was conducted in 2021 to significantly expand phenotyping on a broad range of mental health symptoms and related phenotypes not available in EHRs to facilitate research in psychiatric genomics.• A total of 86 244 individuals participated in the EstBB MHoS (age range 18-100 years), corresponding to a participation rate of 46.7%.• The EstBB MHoS collected information on increased risk for various mental conditions, including current and lifetime depression, anxiety, mania, post-traumatic stress, disordered eating, alcohol and substance abuse, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, adverse childhood and adulthood experiences, as well as psychiatric medication usage and treatment outcomes.