Prevalence, Characteristics, and Genetic Architecture of Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Phenotypes

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Health
• Genetics
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Avoidant/restrictive food intake (ARFI) disorder is characterized by limited food intake, but its developmental trajectory and genetic factors are poorly understood.
• Limited knowledge of ARFI's developmental characteristics and etiology hinders research, prevention, and intervention efforts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate the prevalence of ARFI phenotypes in a population-based sample.
• To examine developmental characteristics of children with ARFI across childhood.
• To investigate the genetic architecture of ARFI using genome-wide association analyses.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) for children born 1999-2009.
• Identified ARFI phenotypes based on mother-reported symptoms at ages 3 and 8 years, classifying them by persistence and clinical significance.
• Employed genome-wide methods to assess heritability, conduct association analyses, and quantify genetic correlations with other phenotypes.

Main Results:

• Prevalence of broad ARFI was 32.1% (transient 17.7%, emergent 8.4%, persistent 6.0%); clinical ARFI prevalence was 6.3% (persistent 1.8%).
• Children with persistent ARFI showed more developmental difficulties compared to controls.
• Identified two genome-wide significant loci for ARFI, with a significant association for clinical ARFI with the ADCY3 gene (P = 3.03 × 10-8).

Conclusions:

• ARFI is prevalent in the general pediatric population and associated with increased developmental difficulties.
• Findings underscore the need for comprehensive support interventions for children with ARFI.
• This study advances the understanding of ARFI's genetic underpinnings, suggesting potential targets for future research and therapeutic strategies.