Despite the small but significant collective genetic effect on ASB, none of the individual genetic variants exceeded the significance threshold in our overall meta-analysis. The sex-specific meta-analyses, however, revealed three loci approaching genome-wide significance. Moreover, stronger polygenic risk effects were found for the sex-specific analyses. Given the substantial differences in prevalence, age of onset, and severity of ASB between males and females (Cale & Lilienfeld, 2002), which might partly reflect sex differences in genetic architecture, it is important to account for those effects in genetic research designs(Ober, Loisel, & Gilad, 2008). Our current results suggest the presence of at least partly sex-specific genetic effects. Even though sample sizes were smaller, the sex-specific analyses yielded increased specificity because potential noise, due to different genetic loci driving the genetic component of ASB in males and females, was removed.
