Epigenetics in eating disorders: a systematic review
File(s)
Author(s)
Hubel, Christopher
Marzi, Sarah J
Berrn, Gerome
Bulik, Cynthia M
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Eating disorders are complex heritable conditions influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Given the progress of genomic discovery in anorexia nervosa, with the identification of the first genome-wide significant locus, as well as animated discussion of epigenetic mechanisms in linking environmental factors with disease onset, our goal was to conduct a systematic review of the current body of evidence on epigenetic factors in eating disorders to inform future directions in this area. Following PRISMA guidelines, two independent authors conducted a search within PubMed and Web of Science and identified 18 journal articles and conference abstracts addressing anorexia nervosa (n = 13), bulimia nervosa (n = 6), and binge-eating disorder (n = 1), published between January 2003 and October 2017. We reviewed all articles and included a critical discussion of field-specific methodological considerations. The majority of epigenetic analyses of eating disorders investigated methylation at candidate genes (n = 13), focusing on anorexia and bulimia nervosa in very small samples with considerable sample overlap across published studies. Three studies used microarray-based technologies to examine DNA methylation across the genome of anorexia nervosa and binge-eating disorder patients. Overall, results were inconclusive and were primarily exploratory in nature. The field of epigenetics in eating disorders remains in its infancy. We encourage the scientific community to apply methodologically sound approaches using genome-wide designs including epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS), to increase sample sizes, and to broaden the focus to include all eating disorder types.
Date Issued
2019-06-01
Date Acceptance
2018-08-08
Citation
Molecular Psychiatry, 2019, 24 (6), pp.901-915
ISSN
1359-4184
Publisher
Springer Nature [academic journals on nature.com]
Start Page
901
End Page
915
Journal / Book Title
Molecular Psychiatry
Volume
24
Issue
6
Copyright Statement
© Springer Nature Limited 2018. The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-018-0254-7
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000468602300010&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Neurosciences
Psychiatry
Neurosciences & Neurology
BORDERLINE PERSONALITY-DISORDER
GENE-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS
DNA METHYLATION ANALYSIS
ANOREXIA-NERVOSA
WIDE ASSOCIATION
BULIMIA-NERVOSA
MESSENGER-RNA
PROMOTER
NUTRITION
FEMALES
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2018-10-23