Study finds anorexia nevorsa is heritable

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Study finds anorexia nevorsa is heritable

By UPI

Mar 7, 2006, 19:00 GMT

CHAPEL HILL, NC, United States (UPI) -- A University of North

Carolina-Chapel Hill study of Swedish twins suggests anorexia

nervosa is heritable and linked to neurotic behavior early in life.

Anorexia nervosa -- an eating disorder characterized by an extreme

fear of obesity and an aversion to food -- is associated with the

highest death rate of any mental disorder, but little is known about

risk factors for its development.

UNC`s Bulik and colleagues studied individuals in the

Swedish Twin Registry to examine the prevalence, heritability and

risk factors for anorexia.

For the current study, they focused on the 31,406 twins in the

registry born between Jan. 1, 1935, and Dec. 31, 1958.

The overall prevalence of anorexia in 2002 was 1.2 percent in women

and .29 percent in men. The researchers estimate the disorder is 56

percent inherited, with the remaining differences caused by

environmental factors.

Those in the study born after 1945 had a higher prevalence of

anorexia than those born before and individuals with lifetime

anorexia reported lower body mass indexes, exercising more and

having better overall health satisfaction than those without

anorexia.

The study`s details appear in the Archives of General Psychiatry.