Multiple diagnoses are the norm with mental illness; new study helps explain why
More than half of people diagnosed with one psychiatric disorder will be diagnosed with a second or third. About one third have four or more.
A sweeping new genetic analysis helps explain why: Subsets of disorders share many underlying genes.
The researchers analyzed data from hundreds of thousands of people who submitted genetic material to large-scale datasets. When they looked at genes associated with 11 disorders, clear patterns emerged:
About 70% of the genetic signal associated with schizophrenia is also associated with bipolar disorder; there is large genetic overlap between anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder; and anorexia nervosa and obsessive-compulsive disorder share similar underlying genes.
The finding could open the door to treatments that address multiple psychiatric disorders and help reshape the way diagnoses are given.
Principal investigator
Andrew Grotzinger
Funding
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Collaboration + support
Psychiatric Genetics Consortium; iPSYCH; UK Biobank; 23 and Me; University of Texas at Austin
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Multiple diagnoses are the norm with mental illness; new genetic study explains why