The genetics of anorexia nervosa collaborative study: methods and sample description.
OBJECTIVE
Supported by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), this 12-site international collaboration seeks to identify genetic variants that affect risk for anorexia nervosa (AN).


METHODS
Four hundred families will be ascertained with two or more individuals affected with AN. The assessment battery produces a rich set of phenotypes comprising eating disorder diagnoses and psychological and personality features known to be associated with vulnerability to eating disorders.


RESULTS
We report attributes of the first 200 families, comprising 200 probands and 232 affected relatives.


CONCLUSIONS
These results provide context for the genotyping of the first 200 families by the Center for Inherited Disease Research. We will analyze our first 200 families for linkage, complete recruitment of roughly 400 families, and then perform final linkage analyses on the complete cohort. DNA, genotypes, and phenotypes will form a national eating disorder repository maintained by NIMH and available to qualified investigators.
Kaye
Walter H
WH
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Bulik
Cynthia M
CM
Plotnicov
Katherine
K
Thornton
Laura
L
Devlin
Bernie
B
Fichter
Manfred M
MM
Treasure
Janet
J
Kaplan
Allan
A
Woodside
D Blake
DB
Johnson
Craig L
CL
Halmi
Katherine
K
Brandt
Harry A
HA
Crawford
Steve
S
Mitchell
James E
JE
Strober
Michael
M
Berrettini
Wade
W
Jones
Ian
I
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000235:genetics*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010641:Phenotype; D012307:Risk Factors