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Parental mental illness and eating disorders in offspring
Author(s) -
Bould Helen,
Koupil Ilona,
Dalman Christina,
DeStavola Bianca,
Lewis Glyn,
Magnusson Cecilia
Publication year - 2015
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.22325
Subject(s) - eating disorders , bipolar disorder , psychiatry , offspring , mental illness , anxiety , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , psychology , depression (economics) , risk factor , bulimia nervosa , prevalence of mental disorders , personality disorders , medicine , personality , mental health , pregnancy , mood , social psychology , biology , economics , genetics , macroeconomics
Objective To investigate which parental mental illnesses are associated with eating disorders in their offspring. Method We used data from a record‐linkage cohort study of 158,679 children aged 12–24 years at the end of follow‐up, resident in Stockholm County from 2001 to 2007, to investigate whether different parental mental illnesses are risk factors for eating disorders in their offspring. The outcome measure was diagnosis of any eating disorder, either from an ICD or DSM‐IV code, or inferred from an appointment at a specialist eating disorder clinic. Results Mental illness in parents is a risk factor for eating disorders in female offspring (Adjusted Hazard Ratio (AHR) 1.57 (95% CI 1.42, 1.92), p < 0.0001). Risk of eating disorders is increased if there is a parental diagnosis of bipolar affective disorder (AHR 2.28 (95% CI 1.39, 3.72), p = 0.004), personality disorder (AHR 1.57 (95% CI 1.01, 2.44), p = 0.043) or anxiety/depression (AHR 1.57 (95% CI 1.32, 1.86), p < 0.0001). There is a lack of statistical evidence for an association with parental schizophrenia (AHR 1.41 (95% CI 0.96, 2.07), p = 0.08), and somatoform disorder (AHR 1.25 (95% CI 0.74, 2.13), p = 0.40). There is no support for a relationship between parental substance misuse and eating disorders in children (AHR 1.08 (95% CI 0.82, 1.43), p = 0.57). Discussion Parental mental illness, specifically parental anxiety, depression, bipolar affective disorder, and personality disorders, are risk factors for eating disorders in their offspring. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2015; 48:383–391)