The Genetics of Eating Disorders study

The knowledge that researchers and clinicians have on the causes and prevalence of anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) is limited. Under the leadership of Drs. Benjamin Neale (Broad) and Karestan Koenen (HSPH), our team at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard is recruiting participants for a study to learn about how eating disorders like AN and BD affect individuals across the United States and how these conditions are shaped by genetic factors. 

This study has the potential to expand knowledge of the genetic risk factors underlying eating disorders using large-scale data and sample collection, so that future progress in research and therapeutics can be applicable to and better serve a diverse population.

The Genetics of Eating Disorders study has completed its current recruitment phase and is not actively recruiting participants at this time. Recruitment is expected to resume later this year. If you are interested in participating, we encourage you to follow us on social media (Facebook: Eating Disorders Genetics, Instagram: ed_genetics) for updates and announcements about the study.

Study Background and Phase 1 Success 

The Genetics of Eating Disorders study has built a strong foundation for large scale analysis through successful recruitment, sample collection, and sequencing by engaging ~26,000 individuals. Increasing participation, sample collection, and sequencing from the original study, the Genetics of Eating Disorders Phase 2 will directly accelerate understanding of the genetic architecture of eating disorders.

Our research team believes the continued approach lies in pursuing a complementary approach that has been successful with schizophrenia. Using a technology called exome sequencing, which focuses on full DNA sequencing of the protein-coding region of the genome, Broad investigators have been uncovering ultra-rare gene variants that have an outsized impact on disease risk for schizophrenia. In the Genetics of Eating Disorders Phase 2, we will continue applying this approach with eating disorders.

Like in Phase 1, the Genetics of Eating Disorders Phase 2 is structured around two main diagnostic categories: anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. It’s suggested that anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa share a familial diathesis; studies have shown that first degree relatives of a family member with anorexia nervosa are at higher risk of developing bulimia and vice versa. It’s suggested that both disorders display considerable overlap in genetic and environmental liability