Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 28, 2026
05:53
Candidate Gene Testing in Clinical Cohort Studies with Multiplexed Genotyping and Mass Spectrometry
Published on: June 21, 2018
Shared genetic risk between functional somatic syndromes, internalizing disorders, and immune-mediated diseases: a
Olivier D Steen1, Henrik Ohlsson2, Sonja L van Ockenburg3
1Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
|May 26, 2026
Summary
Functional somatic syndromes like fibromyalgia share genetic risks with immune-mediated diseases. These findings highlight immune-related genetic factors in the etiology of these conditions.
Area of Science:
- Genetics
- Psychiatry
- Immunology
Background:
- Functional somatic syndromes (FSS) frequently co-occur with internalizing disorders.
- Both FSS and internalizing disorders exhibit familial associations with immune-mediated diseases (IMDs).
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate genetic and environmental contributions to FSS and their overlap with IMDs.
- To compare these contributions with internalizing disorders.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a large Swedish twin and sibling cohort (N=6,097,372).
- Extracted diagnoses for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), major depression, anxiety disorders, and IMDs from nationwide registers.
- Employed bivariate twin-sibling structural equation modeling to assess genetic and environmental correlations.
Main Results:
- Heritability for FSS and internalizing disorders ranged from 15-44%, with unique environment explaining 49-84%.
- Heritability for IMDs was estimated at 37%, with a 63% unique environmental component.
- Fibromyalgia demonstrated the strongest genetic correlation with IMDs (rA=0.52).
- IBS, ME/CFS, and major depression showed modest genetic correlations (rA 0.19-0.29), while anxiety disorders showed minimal correlation (rA=0.04).
Conclusions:
- Fibromyalgia, and to a lesser extent other FSS and major depression, share genetic risk factors with IMDs.
- Immune-related genetic factors contribute to the etiology of fibromyalgia and other functional disorders.
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