Open AccessThe Disruptive Effects of Estrogen Removal Before Puberty on Risk for Binge Eating in Female Rats
Author(s) -
Kelly L. Klump,
Elaine B. Sinclair,
Britny A. Hildebrandt,
Deborah A. Kashy,
Shan M. O’Connor,
Megan E. Mikhail,
Kristen M. Culbert,
Alexander W. Johnson,
Cheryl L. Sisk
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
clinical psychological science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.74
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 2167-7034
pISSN - 2167-7026
DOI - 10.1177/2167702620921343
Subject(s) - prepuberty , estrogen , binge eating , medicine , endocrinology , psychology , young adult , phenotype , physiology , obesity , hormone , biology , gene , biochemistry
Recent research suggests that estrogen is protective against binge eating in adult females, and that pubertal estrogen may be critical for these effects. Nonetheless, to date, no study has examined the role of pubertal estrogen in adult binge eating phenotypes in females, potentially due to difficulties experimentally manipulating estrogen in humans to examine causal effects. We used a novel animal model to examine whether estrogen removal prior to puberty (via pre-pubertal ovariectomy (P-OVX)) increases rates of binge eating prone (BEP) phenotypes in adulthood in females. A total of 77 P-OVX and 79 intact rats were followed from pre-puberty into adulthood and phenotyped for BEP status in adulthood. Results showed significantly increased rates (~2-8x higher) of adult BEP phenotypes in P-OVX as compared to intact rats. Findings confirm that estrogen removal substantially increases later risk for binge eating in females, potentially by disrupting typical adolescent brain development.