In summary, we identified the first robust genome-wide significant locus for anorexia nervosa, which is also a previously reported type 1 diabetes and general autoimmune disorder locus. Perhaps of greater importance, is that we find anorexia nervosa is a complex heritable phenotype with intriguingly large and significant genetic correlations not only with psychiatric disorders but also multiple metabolic traits. This encourages a reconceptualization of this frequently lethal disorder as both psychiatric and metabolic. Just as obesity is increasingly considered to be both a metabolic/endocrine and psychiatric disorder, approaching anorexia nervosa as both a psychiatric and metabolic condition could ignite interest in developing or repositioning pharmacologic agents for its treatment where currently none exist.
