--- title: "Psych News Alert: Researchers Uncover Genetic Link to Anorexia" description: Researchers have uncovered the first genetic variant tied to anorexia nervosa, reports a study published today in AJP in Advance . This ... image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/DNA_iStock-508496956-Jun-24-2025-09-46-47-9187-PM.jpg --- 5/12/17 12:00 AM # Researchers Uncover Genetic Link to Anorexia ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) Share: [facebook-f icon ](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://alert.psychnews.org/2017/05/researchers-uncover-genetic-link-to.html) [linkedin-in icon ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2017/05/researchers-uncover-genetic-link-to.html) [Twitter icon ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2017/05/researchers-uncover-genetic-link-to.html) [pinterest-p icon ](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2017/05/researchers-uncover-genetic-link-to.html) [envelope icon ](mailto:?body=https://alert.psychnews.org/2017/05/researchers-uncover-genetic-link-to.html) | ![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/DNA_iStock-508496956-Jun-24-2025-09-46-47-0594-PM.jpg?width=200&height=121&name=DNA_iStock-508496956-Jun-24-2025-09-46-47-0594-PM.jpg) | | | --- | --- | Researchers have uncovered the first genetic variant tied to anorexia nervosa, reports a [study](http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.16121402) published today in *AJP in Advance*. This large-scale genomic effort also identified many correlations between anorexia and other psychiatric and metabolic disorders, providing a new way to conceptualize this serious and potentially lethal eating disorder. Past studies of anorexia in twins suggested that the disorder is heritable, but previous genome-wide association studies (GWASs) to uncover risk variants have been limited by small sample sizes. For the current study, Cynthia Bulik, Ph.D., of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and an international group of investigators worked together to conduct a GWAS of anorexia, combining samples collected from around the world. The analysis included DNA from 3,495 people with anorexia nervosa and 10,982 controls. The genome-wide analysis uncovered one variant on chromosome 12 (rs4622308) that was significantly correlated with anorexia nervosa. This locus has been previously shown to be associated with type 1 diabetes and autoimmune disorders. The researchers next explored the genetic correlations — the extent to which various traits are caused by the same genes — between anorexia and other psychiatric, medical, educational, and personality phenotypes. Anorexia was significantly genetically correlated with neuroticism and schizophrenia—a relationship the authors noted “reinforce[s] clinical and epidemiological observations.” Other traits with a strong positive association were educational attainment and cholesterol levels. The authors also found strong negative associations between anorexia and obesity, insulin resistance, and fasting insulin levels. The findings suggest anorexia nervosa is a “complex heritable phenotype with intriguingly large and significant genetic correlations not only with psychiatric disorders but also with multiple metabolic traits,” Bulik and colleagues wrote. “Just as obesity is increasingly considered to be both a metabolic/endocrine and psychiatric disorder, approaching anorexia nervosa as both a psychiatric and metabolic condition could ignite interest in developing or repositioning pharmacological agents for its treatment,” the authors concluded. For related information, see *[Handbook of Assessment and Treatment of Eating Disorders](https://www.appi.org/Handbook_of_Assessment_and_Treatment_of_Eating_Disorders)* from APA Publishing. (Image: iStock/cosmin4000) [schizophrenia](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/schizophrenia), [ajp in advance](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/ajp-in-advance), [obesity](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/obesity), [insulin](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/insulin), [type 1 diabetes](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/type-1-diabetes), [GWAS](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/gwas), [neuroticism](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/neuroticism), [metabolic disorder](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/metabolic-disorder), [anorexia nervosa](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/anorexia-nervosa), [genes](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/genes), [autoimmune disorders](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/autoimmune-disorders), [Cynthia Bulik](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/cynthia-bulik) ## Related posts [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_88188496-Jun-24-2025-06-27-40-5998-PM.jpg?height=200&name=shutterstock_88188496-Jun-24-2025-06-27-40-5998-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/04/whitney-houston-death-sends-message-to.html) [drug addiction](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/drug-addiction) ## [Whitney Houston's Death Sends Message to Clinicians](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/04/whitney-houston-death-sends-message-to.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 4/6/12 12:00 AM [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/04/whitney-houston-death-sends-message-to.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Sept11Police_21062310_MEDIUM-Jun-24-2025-04-35-37-4940-PM.jpg?height=200&name=Sept11Police_21062310_MEDIUM-Jun-24-2025-04-35-37-4940-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/09/study-reveals-ptsd-trajectories-for-911.html) [PTSD](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/ptsd), [police](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/police), [disaster psychiatry](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/disaster-psychiatry), [post-traumatic stress disorder](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/post-traumatic-stress-disorder), [disaster response](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/disaster-response), [world trade center](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/world-trade-center) ## [Study Reveals PTSD Trajectories for 9/11 Responders Over 12-Year Period](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/09/study-reveals-ptsd-trajectories-for-911.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 9/12/16 12:00 AM Tens of thousands of trained and untrained disaster responders were involved in the rescue,... [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/09/study-reveals-ptsd-trajectories-for-911.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/pills_2684709-Jun-24-2025-06-36-31-1791-PM.jpg?height=200&name=pills_2684709-Jun-24-2025-06-36-31-1791-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/12/study-highlights-long-term-use-of.html) [antipsychotic](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/antipsychotic), [antidepressant](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/antidepressant), [Medical Expenditure Panel Survey](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/medical-expenditure-panel-survey), [hypnotic](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/hypnotic), [Anxiolytics](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/anxiolytics) ## [Study Highlights Long-Term Use of Psychiatric Medications](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/12/study-highlights-long-term-use-of.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 12/12/16 12:00 AM About one in six adults in the United States reported taking at least one psychiatric medication in... [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/12/study-highlights-long-term-use-of.html) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Psychiatric News Alert", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert" }, "dateModified" : "2025-06-24T21:49:31.166Z", "datePublished" : "2017-05-12T04:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Psych News Alert: Researchers Uncover Genetic Link to Anorexia", "image" : [ "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/DNA_iStock-508496956-Jun-24-2025-09-46-47-9187-PM.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/2017/05/researchers-uncover-genetic-link-to.html", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/PN-Blue-Box.jpg" } } } ```