Eating Disorders: From Twin Studies to Candidate Genes and Beyond

Abstract Substantial effort has been put into the exploration of the biological background of eating disorders, through family, twin and molecular genetic studies. Family studies have shown that anorexia (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) are strongly familial, and that familial etiologic factors appear to be shared by both disorders. Twin studies often focus on broader phenotypes or subthreshold eating disorders. These studies consistently yielded moderate to substantial heritabilities. In addition, there has been a proliferation of molecular genetic studies that focused on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) AN and BN. Seven linkage regions have been identified in genome-wide screens. Many genetic association studies have been performed, but no consistent association between a candidate gene and AN or BN has been reported. Larger genetic association studies and collaborations are needed to examine the involvement of several candidate genes and biological pathways in eating disorders. In addition, twin studies should be designed to assist the molecular work by further exploring genetic determinants of endophenotypes, evaluating the magnitude of contribution to liability of measured genotypes as well as environmental risk factors related to eating disorders. In this manner twin and molecular studies can move the field forward in a mutually informative way

Classifying eating disorders based on "healthy" and "unhealthy" perfectionism and impulsivity

Stress-related psychiatric disorders across the life spa

Associations among postpartum depression, eating disorders, and perfectionism in a population-based sample of adult women

Objective: The current study investigated associations among eating disorders, depressive symptoms during pregnancy and postpartum, and perfectionism in a population-based sample of women. Method: Females who reported > or = 1 pregnancy (n = 1,119) completed questionnaires assessing perfectionism, eating disorder symptomatology, and depression during pregnancy and postpartum. Information regarding participants' history of major depressive disorder (mdd) was also available from structured psychiatric interviews completed during a previous wave of data collection. Results: Depressive symptoms during pregnancy and postpartum were high among women with a history of eating disorders. Both binge eating disorder (bed) and bulimia nervosa (bn) were positively associated with symptoms of postpartum depression (ppd), even when lifetime mdd was controlled. However, logistic regression indicated that women with a history of bn and bed are at particular risk of developing ppd symptomatology. Linear regression analyses conducted with the subset of the sample who endorsed a ppd screening item suggested that the severity of ppd symptomatology may be attributable to concern over mistakes, a specific aspect of perfectionism. Conclusion: These results highlight the importance of assessing specific features of perfectionism. In addition, they suggest that women with bn, bed, or high concern over mistakes may be at particular risk of developing ppd symptoms, and could benefit from prenatal screening