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Anorexics
More Likely to Be
Spring, Summer Babies
NEW
YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who are diagnosed with anorexia
nervosa are more likely to have been born in the first half of
the year, a new report suggests.
According
to findings published in the September issue of the International
Journal of Eating Disorders, nearly 55% of anorexic women were
born in the first 6 months of the year compared with 49% of women
without the eating disorder. Anorexic women were most likely to
be born in March through June.
``This excess
was most apparent in the second quarter of the year, with the
largest excess during the month of June,'' Dr. John M. Eagles
of Royal Cornhill Hospital in Aberdeen, UK, and colleagues, report.
The investigators
compared the birth dates of 446 patients who were treated in Northeast
Scotland from 1965 to 1997, and nearly 6,000 women who did not
have anorexia and lived in the area.
While it is
not clear why the birth dates of women with anorexia nervosa would
form a seasonal cluster, the researchers cite similar findings
for schizophrenics, whose birth dates tend to peak between January
and April. Some evidence indicates that alcoholics are more likely
to be born in the spring and summer. Together, these findings
point to the possibility of a seasonal infection that may increase
the risk of brain damage that can lead to one of many disorders.
``The most
plausible hypothesis is that the spring excess of births among
people who develop serious mental disorders arises because infants
and/or fetuses are exposed to postnatal or intrauterine factors,
most likely nutritional or infective, which fluctuate seasonally
in their prevalence and/or severity,'' the authors write.
However, more
research needs to be carried out on larger groups of patients.
``Possible
relationships between birth dates and rates of infectious diseases
during the months of pregnancy (plus factors such as temperature
fluctuations and urban/rural differences...) may help to elucidate
organic etiological factors in anorexia nervosa,'' Eagles and
colleagues conclude.
Anorexia nervosa
is a psychological disorder in which patients, who are usually
women, develop a distorted body image and an intense fear of becoming
fat. They severely restrict the amount of food they consume. Some
purge the small amount of food they eat by vomiting or using laxatives;
others sometimes binge and then purge.
SOURCE:
International Journal of Eating Disorders 2001;30:167-175.
Reference
Source 89
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