OCD Genomics and Future Looks

Abstract

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) has been studied using various genetic analyses over the years. It has been of interest to identify potential risk genes that point to the susceptibility of the disorder. Segregation analyses were the initial methods to study these genes. Linkage analyses were then used and slowly replaced segregation analyses in the genomics field. Now, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and meta-analyses are commonly used to study OCD, as well as other psychiatric disorders. All previous research on OCD has focused on common variants, and the hope is to shift toward studying rare variants in the future. This chapter discusses each of these methodologies in the context of OCD, as well as a look into what the future of OCD statistical analyses may hold.