Eating disorders and cannabis use share genetic risk factors
A massive genome-wide analysis found significant positive genetic correlations between anorexia nervosa and both cannabis initiation and cannabis use disorder, suggesting shared biological pathways.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Significant positive genetic correlations emerged between anorexia nervosa and cannabis initiation (rg = 0.23), and between anorexia nervosa with binge eating and cannabis use disorder (rg = 0.27). Conversely, anorexia without binge eating showed negative genetic correlations with smoking phenotypes. The genetic correlation between alcohol use disorder and anorexia was no longer significant after controlling for depression genetics.
Key Numbers
Sample sizes ~2,400 to ~537,000; AN-cannabis initiation rg = 0.23; AN with binge eating-CUD rg = 0.27; AN without binge eating showed negative correlations with smoking phenotypes
How They Did This
Linkage disequilibrium score regression calculated genetic correlations between four eating disorder phenotypes and eight substance-use-related phenotypes (including cannabis initiation and cannabis use disorder) using GWAS data from eight studies. Sample sizes ranged from ~2,400 to ~537,000 individuals.
Why This Research Matters
The genetic overlap between eating disorders and cannabis use challenges the view that these are entirely separate conditions. Shared biological vulnerability could explain co-occurrence patterns and inform treatment approaches that address both conditions simultaneously.
The Bigger Picture
The substance-specific pattern of genetic correlations is striking: eating disorders share genetic risk with cannabis and alcohol but show the opposite pattern with smoking. This suggests complex and substance-specific biological relationships rather than a simple shared addiction vulnerability.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
GWAS correlations identify shared genetic architecture but not specific causal mechanisms. European ancestry-predominant samples limit generalizability. Cannot distinguish direct from indirect genetic effects.
Questions This Raises
- ?What specific biological pathways are shared between eating disorders and cannabis use?
- ?Does the shared genetic risk involve reward, appetite, or stress-response systems?
- ?Could treatments targeting shared mechanisms help both conditions?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Anorexia nervosa genetically correlated with cannabis initiation (rg = 0.23)
- Evidence Grade:
- Massive GWAS dataset with rigorous statistical methods, though observational genetic correlations cannot establish causation.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2021.
- Original Title:
- Shared genetic risk between eating disorder- and substance-use-related phenotypes: Evidence from genome-wide association studies.
- Published In:
- Addiction biology, 26(1), e12880 (2021)
- Authors:
- Munn-Chernoff, Melissa A, Johnson, Emma C(17), Chou, Yi-Ling, Coleman, Jonathan R I, Thornton, Laura M, Walters, Raymond K, Yilmaz, Zeynep, Baker, Jessica H, Hübel, Christopher, Gordon, Scott, Medland, Sarah E, Watson, Hunna J, Gaspar, Héléna A, Bryois, Julien, Hinney, Anke, Leppä, Virpi M, Mattheisen, Manuel, Ripke, Stephan, Yao, Shuyang, Giusti-Rodríguez, Paola, Hanscombe, Ken B, Adan, Roger A H, Alfredsson, Lars, Ando, Tetsuya, Andreassen, Ole A, Berrettini, Wade H, Boehm, Ilka, Boni, Claudette, Boraska Perica, Vesna, Buehren, Katharina, Burghardt, Roland, Cassina, Matteo, Cichon, Sven, Clementi, Maurizio, Cone, Roger D, Courtet, Philippe, Crow, Scott, Crowley, James J, Danner, Unna N, Davis, Oliver S P, de Zwaan, Martina, Dedoussis, George, Degortes, Daniela, DeSocio, Janiece E, Dick, Danielle M, Dikeos, Dimitris, Dina, Christian, Dmitrzak-Weglarz, Monika, Docampo, Elisa, Duncan, Laramie E, Egberts, Karin, Ehrlich, Stefan, Escaramís, Geòrgia, Esko, Tõnu, Estivill, Xavier, Farmer, Anne, Favaro, Angela, Fernández-Aranda, Fernando, Fichter, Manfred M, Fischer, Krista, Föcker, Manuel, Foretova, Lenka, Forstner, Andreas J, Forzan, Monica, Franklin, Christopher S, Gallinger, Steven, Giegling, Ina, Giuranna, Johanna, Gonidakis, Fragiskos, Gorwood, Philip, Gratacos Mayora, Monica, Guillaume, Sébastien, Guo, Yiran, Hakonarson, Hakon, Hatzikotoulas, Konstantinos, Hauser, Joanna, Hebebrand, Johannes, Helder, Sietske G, Herms, Stefan, Herpertz-Dahlmann, Beate, Herzog, Wolfgang, Huckins, Laura M, Hudson, James I, Imgart, Hartmut, Inoko, Hidetoshi, Janout, Vladimir, Jiménez-Murcia, Susana, Julià, Antonio, Kalsi, Gursharan, Kaminská, Deborah, Karhunen, Leila, Karwautz, Andreas, Kas, Martien J H, Kennedy, James L, Keski-Rahkonen, Anna, Kiezebrink, Kirsty, Kim, Youl-Ri, Klump, Kelly L, Knudsen, Gun Peggy S, La Via, Maria C, Le Hellard, Stephanie, Levitan, Robert D, Li, Dong, Lilenfeld, Lisa, Lin, Bochao Danae, Lissowska, Jolanta, Luykx, Jurjen, Magistretti, Pierre J, Maj, Mario, Mannik, Katrin, Marsal, Sara, Marshall, Christian R, Mattingsdal, Morten, McDevitt, Sara, McGuffin, Peter, Metspalu, Andres, Meulenbelt, Ingrid, Micali, Nadia, Mitchell, Karen, Monteleone, Alessio Maria, Monteleone, Palmiero, Nacmias, Benedetta, Navratilova, Marie, Ntalla, Ioanna, O'Toole, Julie K, Ophoff, Roel A, Padyukov, Leonid, Palotie, Aarno, Pantel, Jacques, Papezova, Hana, Pinto, Dalila, Rabionet, Raquel, Raevuori, Anu, Ramoz, Nicolas, Reichborn-Kjennerud, Ted, Ricca, Valdo, Ripatti, Samuli, Ritschel, Franziska, Roberts, Marion, Rotondo, Alessandro, Rujescu, Dan, Rybakowski, Filip, Santonastaso, Paolo, Scherag, André, Scherer, Stephen W, Schmidt, Ulrike, Schork, Nicholas J, Schosser, Alexandra, Seitz, Jochen, Slachtova, Lenka, Slagboom, P Eline, Slof-Op't Landt, Margarita C T, Slopien, Agnieszka, Sorbi, Sandro, Świątkowska, Beata, Szatkiewicz, Jin P, Tachmazidou, Ioanna, Tenconi, Elena, Tortorella, Alfonso, Tozzi, Federica, Treasure, Janet, Tsitsika, Artemis, Tyszkiewicz-Nwafor, Marta, Tziouvas, Konstantinos, van Elburg, Annemarie A, van Furth, Eric F, Wagner, Gudrun, Walton, Esther, Widen, Elisabeth, Zeggini, Eleftheria, Zerwas, Stephanie, Zipfel, Stephan, Bergen, Andrew W, Boden, Joseph M, Brandt, Harry, Crawford, Steven, Halmi, Katherine A, Horwood, L John, Johnson, Craig, Kaplan, Allan S, Kaye, Walter H, Mitchell, James, Olsen, Catherine M, Pearson, John F, Pedersen, Nancy L, Strober, Michael, Werge, Thomas, Whiteman, David C, Woodside, D Blake, Grove, Jakob, Henders, Anjali K, Larsen, Janne T, Parker, Richard, Petersen, Liselotte V, Jordan, Jennifer, Kennedy, Martin A, Birgegård, Andreas, Lichtenstein, Paul, Norring, Claes, Landén, Mikael, Mortensen, Preben Bo, Polimanti, Renato, McClintick, Jeanette N, Adkins, Amy E, Aliev, Fazil, Bacanu, Silviu-Alin, Batzler, Anthony, Bertelsen, Sarah, Biernacka, Joanna M, Bigdeli, Tim B, Chen, Li-Shiun, Clarke, Toni-Kim, Degenhardt, Franziska, Docherty, Anna R, Edwards, Alexis C, Foo, Jerome C, Fox, Louis, Frank, Josef, Hack, Laura M, Hartmann, Annette M, Hartz, Sarah M, Heilmann-Heimbach, Stefanie, Hodgkinson, Colin, Hoffmann, Per, Hottenga, Jouke-Jan, Konte, Bettina, Lahti, Jari, Lahti-Pulkkinen, Marius, Lai, Dongbing, Ligthart, Lannie, Loukola, Anu, Maher, Brion S, Mbarek, Hamdi, McIntosh, Andrew M, McQueen, Matthew B, Meyers, Jacquelyn L, Milaneschi, Yuri, Palviainen, Teemu, Peterson, Roseann E, Ryu, Euijung, Saccone, Nancy L, Salvatore, Jessica E, Sanchez-Roige, Sandra, Schwandt, Melanie, Sherva, Richard, Streit, Fabian, Strohmaier, Jana, Thomas, Nathaniel, Wang, Jen-Chyong, Webb, Bradley T, Wedow, Robbee, Wetherill, Leah, Wills, Amanda G, Zhou, Hang, Boardman, Jason D, Chen, Danfeng, Choi, Doo-Sup, Copeland, William E, Culverhouse, Robert C, Dahmen, Norbert, Degenhardt, Louisa, Domingue, Benjamin W, Frye, Mark A, Gäebel, Wolfgang, Hayward, Caroline, Ising, Marcus, Keyes, Margaret, Kiefer, Falk, Koller, Gabriele, Kramer, John, Kuperman, Samuel, Lucae, Susanne, Lynskey, Michael T, Maier, Wolfgang, Mann, Karl, Männistö, Satu, Müller-Myhsok, Bertram, Murray, Alison D, Nurnberger, John I, Preuss, Ulrich, Räikkönen, Katri, Reynolds, Maureen D, Ridinger, Monika, Scherbaum, Norbert, Schuckit, Marc A, Soyka, Michael, Treutlein, Jens, Witt, Stephanie H, Wodarz, Norbert, Zill, Peter, Adkins, Daniel E, Boomsma, Dorret I, Bierut, Laura J, Brown, Sandra A, Bucholz, Kathleen K, Costello, E Jane, de Wit, Harriet, Diazgranados, Nancy, Eriksson, Johan G, Farrer, Lindsay A, Foroud, Tatiana M, Gillespie, Nathan A, Goate, Alison M, Goldman, David, Grucza, Richard A, Hancock, Dana B, Harris, Kathleen Mullan, Hesselbrock, Victor, Hewitt, John K, Hopfer, Christian J, Iacono, William G, Johnson, Eric O, Karpyak, Victor M, Kendler, Kenneth S, Kranzler, Henry R, Krauter, Kenneth, Lind, Penelope A, McGue, Matt, MacKillop, James, Madden, Pamela A F, Maes, Hermine H, Magnusson, Patrik K E, Nelson, Elliot C, Nöthen, Markus M, Palmer, Abraham A, Penninx, Brenda W J H, Porjesz, Bernice, Rice, John P, Rietschel, Marcella, Riley, Brien P, Rose, Richard J, Shen, Pei-Hong, Silberg, Judy, Stallings, Michael C, Tarter, Ralph E, Vanyukov, Michael M, Vrieze, Scott, Wall, Tamara L, Whitfield, John B, Zhao, Hongyu, Neale, Benjamin M, Wade, Tracey D, Heath, Andrew C, Montgomery, Grant W, Martin, Nicholas G, Sullivan, Patrick F, Kaprio, Jaakko, Breen, Gerome, Gelernter, Joel, Edenberg, Howard J, Bulik, Cynthia M, Agrawal, Arpana
- Database ID:
- RTHC-03368
Evidence Hierarchy
Watches what happens naturally without intervening.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Are eating disorders and cannabis use genetically linked?
Yes. This study found significant shared genetic risk between anorexia nervosa and cannabis use. The correlation was stronger when binge eating was present alongside anorexia.
Does this mean the same genes cause both?
Not exactly. Genetic correlations identify shared genetic architecture but do not pinpoint specific genes or prove that the same genetic variants directly cause both conditions.
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Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-03368APA
Munn-Chernoff, Melissa A; Johnson, Emma C; Chou, Yi-Ling; Coleman, Jonathan R I; Thornton, Laura M; Walters, Raymond K; Yilmaz, Zeynep; Baker, Jessica H; Hübel, Christopher; Gordon, Scott; Medland, Sarah E; Watson, Hunna J; Gaspar, Héléna A; Bryois, Julien; Hinney, Anke; Leppä, Virpi M; Mattheisen, Manuel; Ripke, Stephan; Yao, Shuyang; Giusti-Rodríguez, Paola; Hanscombe, Ken B; Adan, Roger A H; Alfredsson, Lars; Ando, Tetsuya; Andreassen, Ole A; Berrettini, Wade H; Boehm, Ilka; Boni, Claudette; Boraska Perica, Vesna; Buehren, Katharina; Burghardt, Roland; Cassina, Matteo; Cichon, Sven; Clementi, Maurizio; Cone, Roger D; Courtet, Philippe; Crow, Scott; Crowley, James J; Danner, Unna N; Davis, Oliver S P; de Zwaan, Martina; Dedoussis, George; Degortes, Daniela; DeSocio, Janiece E; Dick, Danielle M; Dikeos, Dimitris; Dina, Christian; Dmitrzak-Weglarz, Monika; Docampo, Elisa; Duncan, Laramie E; Egberts, Karin; Ehrlich, Stefan; Escaramís, Geòrgia; Esko, Tõnu; Estivill, Xavier; Farmer, Anne; Favaro, Angela; Fernández-Aranda, Fernando; Fichter, Manfred M; Fischer, Krista; Föcker, Manuel; Foretova, Lenka; Forstner, Andreas J; Forzan, Monica; Franklin, Christopher S; Gallinger, Steven; Giegling, Ina; Giuranna, Johanna; Gonidakis, Fragiskos; Gorwood, Philip; Gratacos Mayora, Monica; Guillaume, Sébastien; Guo, Yiran; Hakonarson, Hakon; Hatzikotoulas, Konstantinos; Hauser, Joanna; Hebebrand, Johannes; Helder, Sietske G; Herms, Stefan; Herpertz-Dahlmann, Beate; Herzog, Wolfgang; Huckins, Laura M; Hudson, James I; Imgart, Hartmut; Inoko, Hidetoshi; Janout, Vladimir; Jiménez-Murcia, Susana; Julià, Antonio; Kalsi, Gursharan; Kaminská, Deborah; Karhunen, Leila; Karwautz, Andreas; Kas, Martien J H; Kennedy, James L; Keski-Rahkonen, Anna; Kiezebrink, Kirsty; Kim, Youl-Ri; Klump, Kelly L; Knudsen, Gun Peggy S; La Via, Maria C; Le Hellard, Stephanie; Levitan, Robert D; Li, Dong; Lilenfeld, Lisa; Lin, Bochao Danae; Lissowska, Jolanta; Luykx, Jurjen; Magistretti, Pierre J; Maj, Mario; Mannik, Katrin; Marsal, Sara; Marshall, Christian R; Mattingsdal, Morten; McDevitt, Sara; McGuffin, Peter; Metspalu, Andres; Meulenbelt, Ingrid; Micali, Nadia; Mitchell, Karen; Monteleone, Alessio Maria; Monteleone, Palmiero; Nacmias, Benedetta; Navratilova, Marie; Ntalla, Ioanna; O'Toole, Julie K; Ophoff, Roel A; Padyukov, Leonid; Palotie, Aarno; Pantel, Jacques; Papezova, Hana; Pinto, Dalila; Rabionet, Raquel; Raevuori, Anu; Ramoz, Nicolas; Reichborn-Kjennerud, Ted; Ricca, Valdo; Ripatti, Samuli; Ritschel, Franziska; Roberts, Marion; Rotondo, Alessandro; Rujescu, Dan; Rybakowski, Filip; Santonastaso, Paolo; Scherag, André; Scherer, Stephen W; Schmidt, Ulrike; Schork, Nicholas J; Schosser, Alexandra; Seitz, Jochen; Slachtova, Lenka; Slagboom, P Eline; Slof-Op't Landt, Margarita C T; Slopien, Agnieszka; Sorbi, Sandro; Świątkowska, Beata; Szatkiewicz, Jin P; Tachmazidou, Ioanna; Tenconi, Elena; Tortorella, Alfonso; Tozzi, Federica; Treasure, Janet; Tsitsika, Artemis; Tyszkiewicz-Nwafor, Marta; Tziouvas, Konstantinos; van Elburg, Annemarie A; van Furth, Eric F; Wagner, Gudrun; Walton, Esther; Widen, Elisabeth; Zeggini, Eleftheria; Zerwas, Stephanie; Zipfel, Stephan; Bergen, Andrew W; Boden, Joseph M; Brandt, Harry; Crawford, Steven; Halmi, Katherine A; Horwood, L John; Johnson, Craig; Kaplan, Allan S; Kaye, Walter H; Mitchell, James; Olsen, Catherine M; Pearson, John F; Pedersen, Nancy L; Strober, Michael; Werge, Thomas; Whiteman, David C; Woodside, D Blake; Grove, Jakob; Henders, Anjali K; Larsen, Janne T; Parker, Richard; Petersen, Liselotte V; Jordan, Jennifer; Kennedy, Martin A; Birgegård, Andreas; Lichtenstein, Paul; Norring, Claes; Landén, Mikael; Mortensen, Preben Bo; Polimanti, Renato; McClintick, Jeanette N; Adkins, Amy E; Aliev, Fazil; Bacanu, Silviu-Alin; Batzler, Anthony; Bertelsen, Sarah; Biernacka, Joanna M; Bigdeli, Tim B; Chen, Li-Shiun; Clarke, Toni-Kim; Degenhardt, Franziska; Docherty, Anna R; Edwards, Alexis C; Foo, Jerome C; Fox, Louis; Frank, Josef; Hack, Laura M; Hartmann, Annette M; Hartz, Sarah M; Heilmann-Heimbach, Stefanie; Hodgkinson, Colin; Hoffmann, Per; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; Konte, Bettina; Lahti, Jari; Lahti-Pulkkinen, Marius; Lai, Dongbing; Ligthart, Lannie; Loukola, Anu; Maher, Brion S; Mbarek, Hamdi; McIntosh, Andrew M; McQueen, Matthew B; Meyers, Jacquelyn L; Milaneschi, Yuri; Palviainen, Teemu; Peterson, Roseann E; Ryu, Euijung; Saccone, Nancy L; Salvatore, Jessica E; Sanchez-Roige, Sandra; Schwandt, Melanie; Sherva, Richard; Streit, Fabian; Strohmaier, Jana; Thomas, Nathaniel; Wang, Jen-Chyong; Webb, Bradley T; Wedow, Robbee; Wetherill, Leah; Wills, Amanda G; Zhou, Hang; Boardman, Jason D; Chen, Danfeng; Choi, Doo-Sup; Copeland, William E; Culverhouse, Robert C; Dahmen, Norbert; Degenhardt, Louisa; Domingue, Benjamin W; Frye, Mark A; Gäebel, Wolfgang; Hayward, Caroline; Ising, Marcus; Keyes, Margaret; Kiefer, Falk; Koller, Gabriele; Kramer, John; Kuperman, Samuel; Lucae, Susanne; Lynskey, Michael T; Maier, Wolfgang; Mann, Karl; Männistö, Satu; Müller-Myhsok, Bertram; Murray, Alison D; Nurnberger, John I; Preuss, Ulrich; Räikkönen, Katri; Reynolds, Maureen D; Ridinger, Monika; Scherbaum, Norbert; Schuckit, Marc A; Soyka, Michael; Treutlein, Jens; Witt, Stephanie H; Wodarz, Norbert; Zill, Peter; Adkins, Daniel E; Boomsma, Dorret I; Bierut, Laura J; Brown, Sandra A; Bucholz, Kathleen K; Costello, E Jane; de Wit, Harriet; Diazgranados, Nancy; Eriksson, Johan G; Farrer, Lindsay A; Foroud, Tatiana M; Gillespie, Nathan A; Goate, Alison M; Goldman, David; Grucza, Richard A; Hancock, Dana B; Harris, Kathleen Mullan; Hesselbrock, Victor; Hewitt, John K; Hopfer, Christian J; Iacono, William G; Johnson, Eric O; Karpyak, Victor M; Kendler, Kenneth S; Kranzler, Henry R; Krauter, Kenneth; Lind, Penelope A; McGue, Matt; MacKillop, James; Madden, Pamela A F; Maes, Hermine H; Magnusson, Patrik K E; Nelson, Elliot C; Nöthen, Markus M; Palmer, Abraham A; Penninx, Brenda W J H; Porjesz, Bernice; Rice, John P; Rietschel, Marcella; Riley, Brien P; Rose, Richard J; Shen, Pei-Hong; Silberg, Judy; Stallings, Michael C; Tarter, Ralph E; Vanyukov, Michael M; Vrieze, Scott; Wall, Tamara L; Whitfield, John B; Zhao, Hongyu; Neale, Benjamin M; Wade, Tracey D; Heath, Andrew C; Montgomery, Grant W; Martin, Nicholas G; Sullivan, Patrick F; Kaprio, Jaakko; Breen, Gerome; Gelernter, Joel; Edenberg, Howard J; Bulik, Cynthia M; Agrawal, Arpana. (2021). Shared genetic risk between eating disorder- and substance-use-related phenotypes: Evidence from genome-wide association studies.. Addiction biology, 26(1), e12880. https://doi.org/10.1111/adb.12880
MLA
Munn-Chernoff, Melissa A, et al. "Shared genetic risk between eating disorder- and substance-use-related phenotypes: Evidence from genome-wide association studies.." Addiction biology, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1111/adb.12880
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Shared genetic risk between eating disorder- and substance-u..." RTHC-03368. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/munn-chernoff-2021-shared-genetic-risk-between
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.