Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-02T18:50:34.077Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Bulimia nervosa and major depression: a study of common genetic and environmental factors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Ellen E. Walters ,
Michael C. Neale ,
Lindon J. Eaves ,
Andrew C. Heath ,
Ronald C. Kessler  and
Kenneth S. Kendler
Ellen E. Walters
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Department of Human Genetics, Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO; Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Michael C. Neale
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Department of Human Genetics, Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO; Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Lindon J. Eaves
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Department of Human Genetics, Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO; Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Andrew C. Heath
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Department of Human Genetics, Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO; Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Ronald C. Kessler
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Department of Human Genetics, Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO; Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Kenneth S. Kendler*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Department of Human Genetics, Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO; Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
*
1 Address for correspondence: Dr Kenneth S. Kendler, Department of Psychiatry, MCV Box 710, Richmond, VA 23298, USA.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Synopsis

A genetic analysis of the co-occurrence of bulimia and major depression (MD) was performed on 1033 female twin pairs obtained from a population based register. Personal interviews were conducted and clinical diagnoses made according to DSM-III-R criteria.

Additive genes, but not family environment, are found to play an important aetiological role in both bulimia and MD. The genetic liabilities of the two disorders are correlated 0·456. While unique environmental factors account for around half of the variation in liability to both bulimia and MD, these risk factors appear to be unrelated, i.e., each disorder has its own set of unique environmental risk factors. Thus, the genetic liability of bulimia and MD is neither highly specific nor entirely nonspecific. There is some genetic correlation between the two disorders as well as some genetic and environmental risk factors unique to each disorder. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 22 , Issue 3 , August 1992 , pp. 617 - 622
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Akaike, H. (1987). Factor Analysis and AIC. Psychometrika 52, 317–332.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heath, A. C., Neale, M. C., Hewitt, J. K., Eaves, L. J. & Fulker, D. W. (1989). Testing structural equation models for twin data using LISREL. Behavior Genetics 19, 9–35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hudson, J. I. & Pope, H. G. (1990). Affective spectrum disorder: does antidepressant response identify a family of disorders with a common pathophysiology? American Journal of Psychiatry 147, 552–564.Google ScholarPubMed
Hudson, J. I., Pope, H. C., Jonas, J. M. & Yurgelun-Todd, D. (1983 a). Family history study of anorexia nervosa and bulimia. British Journal of Psychiatry 142, 133–138.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hudson, J. I., Pope, H. G., Jonas, J. M. & Yurgelun-Todd, D. (1983 b). Phenomenologic relationship of eating disorders to major affective disorder. Psychiatric Research 9, 345–354.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hudson, J. I., Pope, H. G., Jonas, J. M., Yurgelun-Todd, D. & Frankenburg, F. R. (1987). A controlled family history study of bulimia. Psychological Medicine 17, 883–890.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jöreskog, K. G. & Sörbom, D. (1986). PRELIS. A Preprocessor for LISREL. Scientific Software: Mooresville, IN.Google Scholar
Jöreskog, K. G. & Sörbom, D. (1989). LISREL 7. A Guide to the Program and Applications, 2nd edn.SPSS, Inc: Chicago.Google Scholar
Kassett, J. A., Gershon, E. S., Maxwell, M. E., Guroff, J. J., Kazuba, D. M., Smith, A. L., Brandt, H. A. & Jimerson, D. C. (1989). Psychiatric disorders in the first-degree relatives of probands with bulimia nervosa. American Journal of Psychiatry 146, 1468–1471.Google ScholarPubMed
Kendler, K. S., MacLean, C., Neale, M., Kessler, R., Heath, A. & Eaves, L. (1991). The genetic epidemiology of bulimia nervosa. American Journal of Psychiatry 148, 1627–1637.Google ScholarPubMed
Kendler, K. S., Neale, M. C., Kessler, R. C., Heath, A. C. & Eaves, L. J. (1992 a). A population based twin study of major depression in women: the impact of varying definitions of illness. Archives of General Psychiatry 49, 257–266.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendler, K. S., Silberg, J. L., Neale, M. C., Kessler, R. C., Heath, A. C. & Eaves, L. J. (1992 b). Genetic and environmental factors in the aetiology of menstrual, premenstrual and neurotic symptoms: a population based twin study. Psychological Medicine 22, 85–108.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Laessle, R. G., Kittl, S., Fichter, M. M., Wittchen, H. U. & Pirke, K. M. (1987). Major affective disorder in anorexia nervosa and bulimia: a descriptive diagnostic study. British Journal of Psychiatry 151, 785–789.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lee, N. F., Rush, A. J. & Mitchell, J. E. (1985). Bulimia and depression. Journal of Affective Disorders 9, 231–238.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Logue, C. M., Crowe, R. R. & Bean, J. A. (1989). A family study of anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Comprehensive Psychiatry 30, 179–188.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spitzer, R. L., Williams, J. B. W. & Gibbon, M. (1987). Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R. Biometrics Research Department; New York State Psychiatric Institute: New York.Google Scholar
Tsuang, M. T. & Faraone, S. V. (1990). Genetics of Mood Disorders. Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore, MD.Google Scholar