A cross-disorder analysis of CNVs finds novel loci and dose-dependent relationships of genes to psychiatric traits

Rare copy number variants (CNVs) are a key component of the genetic basis of psychiatric conditions, but have not been well characterized for most. We conducted a genome-wide CNV analysis across six diagnostic categories (N = 574,965): autism (ASD), ADHD, bipolar disorder (BD), major depressive disorder (MDD), PTSD, and schizophrenia (SCZ). We identified 35 genome-wide significant associations at 18 loci, including novel associations in SCZ ( SMYD3, USP7 - HAPSTR1 ) and in the combined cross-disorder analysis ( ASTN2 ). Rare CNVs accounted for 1-3% of heritability across diagnoses. In ASD, associations were uniformly positive, consistent with autism having diverse etiologies and clinical presentations. By contrast, CNVs showed a dose-dependent relationship for other diagnoses, including SCZ and PTSD, with reciprocal deletions and duplications having inversely correlated effects and distinct genotype-phenotype relationships. Our findings suggest that genes have effects that are both dose-dependent and pleiotropic, such that a positive influence on one dimension of psychopathology may be accompanied by positive or negative effects on others.