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The association of anxiety disorders and obsessive compulsive personality disorder with anorexia nervosa: Evidence from a family study with discussion of nosological and neurodevelopmental implications
Author(s) -
Strober Michael,
Freeman Roberta,
Lampert Carlyn,
Diamond Jane
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/eat.20429
Subject(s) - anorexia nervosa , psychology , anxiety , proband , panic disorder , anxiety disorder , psychiatry , comorbidity , clinical psychology , avoidant personality disorder , eating disorders , personality , personality disorders , social psychology , biochemistry , chemistry , mutation , gene
Background: To investigate the association of anorexia nervosa with anxiety disorders through use of a case–control family study design. Method: Lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorders and obsessive compulsive personality disorder was determined among 574 first‐degree relatives of 152 probands with anorexia nervosa and compared to rates observed among 647 first‐degree relatives of 181 never‐ill control probands. Results: Adjusting for comorbidity of the same illness in the proband, relatives of probands with anorexia nervosa, had a significantly higher prevalence of generalized anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, separation anxiety disorder, social phobia, panic disorder, and obsessive compulsive personality disorder compared to relatives of never‐ill control probands. Conclusion: Anorexia nervosa may share familial liability factors in common with various anxiety phenotypes. In suggesting that a transmitted propensity for anxiety is a key aspect of vulnerability in anorexia nervosa, the findings point to research developments in the affective neurosciences, specifically the neurocircuitry of fear and anxiety, as a heuristic framework in which to interpret aspects of premorbid temperamental anxieties and clinical symptoms. © 2007 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 2007