Clinical, epidemiological, and genetic findings support an overlap between eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and anxiety symptoms. However, little research has examined the role of genetic factors in the expression of eating disorders and OCD/anxiety phenotypes. We examined whether the anorexia nervosa (AN), OCD, or AN/OCD transdiagnostic polygenic scores (PGS) predict eating disorders, OCD, and anxiety symptoms in a large population-based developmental cohort. Using summary statistics files from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium Freeze 2 AN and Freeze 1 OCD GWAS, we first conducted an AN/OCD transdiagnostic GWAS meta-analysis and then calculated PGS for AN, OCD, and AN/OCD in participants from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children with available genetic and phenotype data on eating disorder, OCD, and anxiety diagnoses and symptoms (sample size 3,212-5,369 per phenotype). We observed sex differences in the PGS prediction of eating disorder, OCD, and anxiety-related phenotypes, with AN genetic risk manifesting at an earlier age and playing a more prominent role in eating disorder phenotypes in boys than in girls. Compulsive exercise was the only phenotype predicted by all three PGS (e.g., PAN(boys)=0.0141 at age 14; POCD(girls)=0.0070 at age 16; PAN/OCD(all)=0.0297 at age 14). Our results suggest that earlier detection of eating disorder, OCD, and anxiety-related symptoms could be made possible by including measurement of genetic risk for these psychiatric conditions while being mindful of sex differences.
Sex differences in eating related behaviors and psychopathology among adolescent military dependents at risk for adult obesity and eating disorders
