Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications
Publication Date
6-1-2024
Journal
American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B
DOI
10.1002/ajmg.b.32962
PMID
37946624
PMCID
PMC11076176
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
6-1-2025
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Author MSS
Published Open-Access
yes
Keywords
Humans, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Genomics, Latin America, Hispanic or Latino, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genome-Wide Association Study, Obsessive-compulsive disorder, OCD, genetic, genomic, GWAS, Latin American
Abstract
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a debilitating psychiatric disorder. Worldwide, its prevalence is ~2% and its etiology is mostly unknown. Identifying biological factors contributing to OCD will elucidate underlying mechanisms and might contribute to improved treatment outcomes. Genomic studies of OCD are beginning to reveal long-sought risk loci, but >95% of the cases currently in analysis are of homogenous European ancestry. If not addressed, this Eurocentric bias will result in OCD genomic findings being more accurate for individuals of European ancestry than other ancestries, thereby contributing to health disparities in potential future applications of genomics. In this study protocol paper, we describe the Latin American Trans-ancestry INitiative for OCD genomics (LATINO, www.latinostudy.org). LATINO is a new network of investigators from across Latin America, the United States, and Canada who have begun to collect DNA and clinical data from 5,000 richly-phenotyped OCD cases of Latin American ancestry in a culturally sensitive and ethical manner. In this project, we will utilize trans-ancestry genomic analyses to accelerate the identification of OCD risk loci, fine-map putative causal variants, and improve the performance of polygenic risk scores in diverse populations. We will also capitalize on rich clinical data to examine the genetics of treatment response, biologically plausible OCD subtypes, and symptom dimensions. Additionally, LATINO will help elucidate the diversity of the clinical presentations of OCD across cultures through various trainings developed and offered in collaboration with Latin American investigators. We believe this study will advance the important goal of global mental health discovery and equity.