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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 12, 2026

A Computer-Based Platform for Aiding Clinicians in Eating Disorder Analysis and Diagnosis

A Computer-Based Platform for Aiding Clinicians in Eating Disorder Analysis and Diagnosis

Published on: May 10, 2022

Genetic variants associated with disordered eating.

Tracey D Wade¹, Scott Gordon, Sarah Medland

¹School of Psychology, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.

The International Journal of Eating Disorders

|April 10, 2013

Summary

This study identified suggestive genes linked to anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) spectrums using genome-wide association studies in female twins. Further research with larger samples is needed to confirm these genetic findings for eating disorders.

Keywords:

anorexia nervosa genes genome-wide association study

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An Allele-specific Gene Expression Assay to Test the Functional Basis of Genetic Associations

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Published on: November 3, 2010

Area of Science:

Genetics
Psychiatry
Molecular Biology

Background:

Genetic factors are recognized contributors to anorexia nervosa (AN).
Progress in identifying specific AN susceptibility genes lags behind other psychiatric disorders.

Purpose of the Study:

To conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify genetic susceptibility loci for eating disorders.
To analyze four distinct eating disorder phenotypes in a community sample of female twins.

Main Methods:

Genome-wide association analyses were performed on 2,564 female twins.
Four phenotypes were analyzed: AN spectrum, bulimia nervosa (BN) spectrum, purging, and disordered eating behaviors.
Gene-based association tests were conducted using VEGAS software.

Main Results:

No variants reached genome-wide significance (p < 10⁻⁸).
Six chromosomal regions showed suggestive association (p < 5 × 10⁻⁷).
Specific genes implicated include CLEC5A, LOC136242, TSHZ1, SYTL5 (AN spectrum), NT5C1B (BN spectrum), and ATP8A2 (disordered eating).

Conclusions:

Larger sample sizes and meta-analyses are essential for robustly identifying genes and pathways associated with eating disorder predisposition.
The study provides preliminary genetic insights that warrant further investigation.