GLA is supporting a major nationwide study that will examine how Lyme disease may affect children’s mental and behavioral health, aiming to address a critical gap in pediatric research, provide clearer answers for families, and guide future care.
For many families, Lyme disease doesn’t end with a rash or joint pain. Parents and clinicians sometimes report changes in children’s mood, behavior, and emotional well-being following infection, ranging from anxiety and depression to trouble focusing, and, in some cases, sudden and severe symptoms such as obsessive thoughts or changes in eating habits.
Despite these concerns, research on the neuropsychiatric effects of Lyme disease remains limited and has largely focused on adults. While case studies and smaller investigations have highlighted these issues, there has been no large-scale, U.S.-based study focused specifically on children to rigorously evaluate these risks. For some children and teens, these challenges may affect not only their health, but also their ability to learn, socialize, and develop, highlighting a critical gap in our understanding.
GLA is now supporting a major nationwide study led by Dr. Laura Prichett at Johns Hopkins University, in collaboration with Dr. Robert Yolken, a professor of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins and a leading researcher on how infections and immune responses may influence brain development and psychiatric disorders, to address this gap. This is expected to be the first large-scale U.S. pediatric study of its kind to examine how Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses are associated with mental and behavioral health symptoms in children, teens, and young adults.
Using medical records from hospitals across the country, together with detailed data from Johns Hopkins, Dr. Prichett and her team will analyze whether children with Lyme disease are more likely to develop a range of mental and behavioral health symptoms, including anxiety, depression, and behavioral changes, as well as symptom patterns consistent with pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS), such as sudden-onset obsessive-compulsive behaviors, eating disturbances, or tics. By combining national-scale data with in-depth clinical records, this research will provide the most comprehensive picture to date of how Lyme disease may influence mental health in children.
According to Dr. Prichett, her team’s “goal is to provide clear answers to families, doctors, and public health leaders. This research is designed to better understand patterns in how these symptoms appear in children and to help ensure that families and clinicians have the information they need to recognize and respond to them earlier.”
Dr. Armin Alaedini, GLA’s Chief Scientific Officer adds: “There is a critical need for methodologically rigorous studies to evaluate the possible neuropsychiatric effects of Lyme disease in children. This project represents an important step toward building an evidence base that can inform both clinical care and future research.”
Ultimately, this work has the potential to reshape how the long-term impacts of Lyme disease are understood in children, enabling earlier detection, more targeted care and clearer, evidence-based guidance for families navigating these complex and often uncertain symptoms.
About the Researcher
Laura Prichett, PhD, MHS, is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University, with a joint appointment in Biomedical Informatics & Data Science. She is an epidemiologist and biostatistician whose work focuses on using large-scale health data to understand mental health outcomes and suicide risk in children and adolescents. Her research explores how biological factors, including infections and immune responses, may influence psychiatric symptoms, positioning her to lead this study at the intersection of Lyme disease and pediatric mental health. She collaborates with Dr. Robert Yolken, whose research has helped shape current understanding of the role of infection and immunity in psychiatric disorders.
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