Ohio launches major study to explore causes of mental illness among residents

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A $20 million state grant to the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center announced Friday will establish a long-term study on mental illness, drug overdose and suicide in Ohio.

Ohio Adversity and Resilience Study will look at thousands of Ohioans and their families to find out what makes people resilient, and the biological, psychological and social factors that help explain why some people can weather adversity while others struggle.

“We believe Ohio has the duty to lead the nation in innovations in prevention, treatment and recovery. The scale and breadth of this study makes it unique,” Gov. Mike DeWine said during a news conference announcing the grant at Ohio State University.

The study, known as the SOAR Study for short, will investigate the role of biological, psychological and social factors that underlie behavioral health issues, DeWine said.

The study is a joint project led by researchers at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine, in collaboration with several Ohio universities.

Case Western Reserve University in conjunction with University Hospitals is among the participating universities. Others include Northeast Ohio Medical University in Rootstown, Kent State University, Central State University, Ohio University and University of Cincinnati/Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

“There’s never been an effort of this scale with this depth in the history of addiction, mental health and resilience research to take on this effort,” said the study’s principal investigator Dr. K. Luan Phan, professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Ohio State.

“Ohio represents a microcosm of our country what we learn here can be disseminated and scaled broadly. Other states will not only copy and adopt what we have done, they will be compelled to do so,” Phan said during the news conference.

Ohio and the rest of the United States has seen a rise in mental illness, suicide and deaths related to drug overdose over the past decade, and the COVID-19 pandemic made these problems worse, DeWine said. This research investment demonstrates Ohio’s commitment to improving mental health, he said.

The State of Ohio Adversity and Resilience Study is made up of two projects:

• The Wellness Discovery Survey will reach as many as 15,000 people across the state to find out how a person’s strengths and skills may be related to overcoming adversity, the state said. This information will help researchers determine which factors may lead to new treatments. More than 300,000 postcards have already been mailed out to residents statewide for the Wellness Discovery Survey, the state said.
• The Brain Health Study will examine up to 3,600 Ohioans in family groups to examine the biological, psychological, and social factors that help explain that relationship, such as who does well with adversity, who does not, and why. Those discoveries will help researchers develop personalized treatments.

The $20 million grant was funded through the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, DeWine said.

DeWine shortly after he was re-elected in 2022 laid out a plan to conduct a study of the root causes of mental illness and addiction as one of his mental health priorities. This plan included ramping up Ohio’s mental-health services by putting millions toward expanded services, research and job development.

The Ohio Adversity and Resilience Study is the state’s version of the Framingham Heart study. This multigenerational heart study, launched in 1948, has included more than 15,000 study participants over 75 years and resulted in major life-saving advancements about heart disease risk factors, DeWine said.

Julie Washington covers healthcare for cleveland.com. Read previous stories at this link.