Neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and more are a growing epidemiological crisis that collectively affect more than 1 billion people worldwide, leading to rising health-care costs and disability. Despite their widespread burden, preventive strategies remain limited due to gaps in understanding how genetic susceptibility interacts with modifiable risk factors. Leveraging the UK Biobank’s large-scale epidemiological data, this study will investigate how polygenic risk scores (PRS) for these disorders correlate with real-world disease incidence and explore whether lifestyle interventions (e.g., physical activity, diet) or biomarkers (e.g., neuroimaging) can mitigate genetic risk. Over about 36 months, this work aims to develop a predictive model to identify high-risk populations and inform targeted prevention programs. By bridging genetic epidemiology with public health practice, the findings could reduce the global burden of these conditions through personalized risk stratification and evidence-based recommendations for brain-healthy behaviors.
