Predicting Adolescent Disordered Eating and Behaviours: Exploring Environmental Moderators of Polygenic Risk

Both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the risk of developing disordered eating, with environmental factors shown to moderate genetic susceptibility through gene environment interactions. To date, the role of gene environment interactions in disordered eating using polygenic risk scores (PRS) has not been studied.This study aimed to explore whether polygenic risk for anorexia nervosa (AN) interacts with established environmental eating disorder risk factors (parental expectations, parental criticism, parental conflict,parental care, and weight-related peer teasing)to predict overall levels of disordered eating, or specific lifetime disordered eating behaviours, in an Australian Adolescent female twin population (N =383).