Rare CNVs linked to schizophrenia risk in East Asian cohorts
The Nature Genetics paper analyzed 20,903 schizophrenia patients and 23,258 controls of East Asian ancestry. It observed a higher burden of rare copy number variants among the cases. The risk pattern was similar to that seen in European groups. In the East Asian cohort, nine loci reached genome‑wide significance; a meta‑analysis that added European data raised the total to 14 loci, including eight that were newly significant. Genes at these loci are less tolerant of loss‑of‑function mutations than genes at other CNV sites. The new variants are far more common in East Asian populations than in European ones, with carrier frequencies of 0.38% versus 0.0017%.
Psychiatric genetics researchers and clinicians working with East Asian patients now have additional risk loci that were not detected in European‑only schizophrenia studies.
Written by the Genomes desk from the primary source cited and linked above and checked against it. Research use only; not medical advice. Corrections: [email protected].