Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2016 Feb 24. doi: 10.1111/sltb.12235. [Epub ahead of print]

Anorexia Nervosa, Major Depression, and Suicide Attempts: Shared Genetic Factors.

Thornton LM1, Welch E2, Munn-Chernoff MA1, Lichtenstein P2, Bulik CM1,2,3.

Author information

• 1Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
• 2Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
• 3Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.

Abstract

The extent to which genetic and environmental factors influenced anorexia nervosa (AN), major depressive disorder (MDD), and suicide attempts (SA) were evaluated. Participants were 6,899 women from the Swedish Twin Study of Adults: Genes and Environment. A Cholesky decomposition assessed independent and overlapping genetic and environmental contributions to AN, MDD, and SA. Genetic factors accounted for a substantial amount of liability to all three traits; unique environmental factors accounted for most of the remaining liability. Shared genetic factors may underlie the coexpression of these traits. Results underscore the importance of assessing for signs of suicide among individuals with AN.