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Highlights d Three groups of highly genetically-related disorders among 8 psychiatric disorders d Identified 109 pleiotropic loci affecting more than one disorder d Pleiotropic genes show heightened expression beginning in 2 nd prenatal trimester d Pleiotropic genes play prominent roles in neurodevelopmental processes Authors Cross-Disorder Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium

Objective To conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of anorexia nervosa and to calculate genetic correlations with a series of psychiatric, educational, and metabolic phenotypes. Method Following uniform quality control and imputation using the 1000 Genomes Project (phase 3) in 12 case-control cohorts comprising 3,495 anorexia nervosa cases and 10,982 controls, we performed standard association analysis followed by a meta-analysis across cohorts. Linkage disequilibrium score regression (LDSC) was used to calculate genome-wide common variant heritability [ hSNP2, partitioned heritability, and genetic correlations (rg)] between anorexia nervosa and other phenotypes. Results Results were obtained for 10,641,224 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and insertion-deletion variants with minor allele frequency > 1% and imputation quality scores > 0.6. The hSNP2 of anorexia nervosa was 0.20 (SE=0.02), suggesting that a substantial fraction of the twin-based heritability arises from common genetic variation. We identified one genome-wide significant locus on chromosome 12 (rs4622308, p=4.3×10−9) in a region harboring a previously reported type 1 diabetes and autoimmune disorder locus. Significant positive genetic correlations were observed between anorexia nervosa and schizophrenia, neuroticism, educational attainment, and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and significant negative genetic correlations between anorexia nervosa and body mass index, insulin, glucose, and lipid phenotypes. Conclusions Anorexia nervosa is a complex heritable phenotype for which we have found the first genome-wide significant locus. Anorexia nervosa also has large and significant genetic correlations with both psychiatric phenotypes and metabolic traits. Our results encourage a reconceptualization of this frequently lethal disorder as one with both psychiatric and metabolic etiology.

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Viscous fibers, including beta-glucan in oat bran, favorably affect satiety as well as postprandial carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. However, effects of fiber viscosity on modulation of satiety-related gut hormone responses are largely unknown. We examined the effects of modified oat bran, with or without its natural viscosity, on sensations of appetite and satiety-related gastrointestinal (GI) hormone responses to establish the relevance of viscosity of beta-glucan in oat bran. Twenty healthy, normal-weight participants (16 female, 4 male, aged 22.6 +/- 0.7 y) ingested 2 isocaloric (1250 kJ) 300-mL oat bran beverages with low or high viscosity (carbohydrates, 57.9 g; protein, 7.8 g; fat, 3.3 g; fiber, 10.2 g) after a 12-h fast in randomized order. Viscosity of the low-viscosity oat bran beverage was reduced by beta-glucanase treatment. Blood samples were drawn before and 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 180 min after beverage consumption. The oat bran beverage with low viscosity induced a greater postprandial increase in satiety (P = 0.048) and plasma glucose (P < 0.001), insulin (P = 0.008), cholecystokinin (P = 0.035), glucagon-like peptide 1 (P = 0.037), and peptide YY (P = 0.051) and a greater decrease in postprandial ghrelin (P = 0.009) than the beverage with high-viscosity oat bran. Gastric emptying as measured by paracetamol absorption was also faster (P = 0.034) after low-viscosity oat bran beverage consumption. In conclusion, viscosity differences in oat beta-glucan in a liquid meal with identical chemical composition strongly influenced not only glucose and insulin responses, but also short-term gut hormone responses, implying the importance of food structure in the modulation of postprandial satiety-related physiology.