TY - JOUR
T1 - Genomic links between symptoms of eating disorders and suicidal ideation
AU - Musial, Agnieszka
AU - Foye, Una
AU - Kakar, Saakshi
AU - Jewell, Tom
AU - Treasure, Janet
AU - Kalsi, Gursharan
AU - Smith, Iona
AU - Meldrum, Laura
AU - Bristow, Shannon
AU - Marsh, Ian
AU - Malouf, Chelsea Mika
AU - Arora, Jahnavi
AU - Davies, Helena
AU - Dutta, Rina
AU - Schmidt, Ulrike
AU - Breen, Gerome
AU - Herle, Moritz
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.
PY - 2025/2/19
Y1 - 2025/2/19
N2 - Eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder, are psychiatric conditions associated with high mortality rates, particularly due to suicide. Although eating disorders are strongly associated with suicidal ideation, attempts, and fatalities, the precise relationship between these conditions remains poorly understood. While substantial genetic influences have been identified for both eating disorders and suicidality, the shared genetics contributing to their co-occurrence remain unclear. In this study, we utilized a multivariate approach to examine the shared genetic architecture of eating disorder symptoms, suicidal thoughts and behaviours in ~20,000 participants from the COVID-19 Psychiatry and Neurological Genetics (COPING) study. We applied individual-level structural equation modelling to explore the factor structure underlying eating disorder symptoms and suicidal ideation, followed by genetic correlation analyses. We modelled the general factor of susceptibility to eating disorders and suicidal ideation that was as strongly genetically influenced as both conditions, with mean SNP heritability of 9%. Importantly, despite the frequent co-occurrence of eating disorders with other psychiatric conditions, our findings highlight the specificity of the relationship between eating disorders and suicidality, independent of other co-occurring psychopathology, such as depression and anxiety. This specificity highlights the need for targeted approaches in understanding the shared susceptibility factors.
AB - Eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder, are psychiatric conditions associated with high mortality rates, particularly due to suicide. Although eating disorders are strongly associated with suicidal ideation, attempts, and fatalities, the precise relationship between these conditions remains poorly understood. While substantial genetic influences have been identified for both eating disorders and suicidality, the shared genetics contributing to their co-occurrence remain unclear. In this study, we utilized a multivariate approach to examine the shared genetic architecture of eating disorder symptoms, suicidal thoughts and behaviours in ~20,000 participants from the COVID-19 Psychiatry and Neurological Genetics (COPING) study. We applied individual-level structural equation modelling to explore the factor structure underlying eating disorder symptoms and suicidal ideation, followed by genetic correlation analyses. We modelled the general factor of susceptibility to eating disorders and suicidal ideation that was as strongly genetically influenced as both conditions, with mean SNP heritability of 9%. Importantly, despite the frequent co-occurrence of eating disorders with other psychiatric conditions, our findings highlight the specificity of the relationship between eating disorders and suicidality, independent of other co-occurring psychopathology, such as depression and anxiety. This specificity highlights the need for targeted approaches in understanding the shared susceptibility factors.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85219065984&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2025.25
DO - 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2025.25
M3 - Article
C2 - 39967258
SN - 0924-9338
SP - 1
EP - 31
JO - European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists
JF - European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists
ER -
