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Autoimmune disease (AID) in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa
Author(s) -
Gerhardt Ann
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.1006.2
Subject(s) - medicine , anorexia nervosa , disease , population , systemic lupus erythematosus , bulimia nervosa , diabetes mellitus , thyroiditis , eating disorders , pediatrics , psychiatry , endocrinology , environmental health
We explored an impression, gained from a general health status questionnaire, that AID prevalence may be high in eating disorder patients. In the original study, 79 of 488 former eating disorder patients of an internal medicine practice, age ≥30 years at the time of the study, were found and 73 had completed a general health questionnaire with 30 questions related to 10 organ systems. No question mentioned any specific autoimmune disease. We contacted patients for more information about diagnoses. Results Fifteen women (20.5%) had one or more AID diagnosis. These included Hashimoto's thyroiditis, celiac disease, systemic lupus erythematosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, uncharacterized connective tissue disorder, combined variable immunodeficiency disease, interstitial cystitis, membranous glomerulonephritis and multiple sclerosis. AIDs were more common with advanced age (mean age 47.13± SD 9.27 vs. 41.40± SD 8.53, p=0.026). AID prevalence was significantly more common (34.8% vs. 14%, p=.041) in women who abused laxatives (N=23). Conclusion AIDs are common in this eating disorder population, and may be related to laxative abuse. The 20.5% prevalence is high compared to an estimated AID prevalence of 14% in all women ≥ 30 years of age, especially since none had Type I diabetes mellitus or psoriasis, the most common AIDs. Support from Sutter Institute for Medical Research