The genetic basis of endometriosis and comorbidity with other pain and inflammatory conditions

DBDS Genomic Consortium, FinnGen Study, FinnGen Endometriosis Taskforce, The Celmatix Research Team, The 23andMe Research Team

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

68 Scopus citations

Abstract

Endometriosis is a common condition associated with debilitating pelvic pain and infertility. A genome-wide association study meta-analysis, including 60,674 cases and 701,926 controls of European and East Asian descent, identified 42 genome-wide significant loci comprising 49 distinct association signals. Effect sizes were largest for stage 3/4 disease, driven by ovarian endometriosis. Identified signals explained up to 5.01% of disease variance and regulated expression or methylation of genes in endometrium and blood, many of which were associated with pain perception/maintenance (SRP14/BMF, GDAP1, MLLT10, BSN and NGF). We observed significant genetic correlations between endometriosis and 11 pain conditions, including migraine, back and multisite chronic pain (MCP), as well as inflammatory conditions, including asthma and osteoarthritis. Multitrait genetic analyses identified substantial sharing of variants associated with endometriosis and MCP/migraine. Targeted investigations of genetically regulated mechanisms shared between endometriosis and other pain conditions are needed to aid the development of new treatments and facilitate early symptomatic intervention.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)423-436
Number of pages14
JournalNature Genetics
Volume55
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2023
Externally publishedYes

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