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Changes in genetic and environmental influences on disordered eating between early and late adolescence: a longitudinal twin study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2015

A. K. Fairweather-Schmidt  and
T. D. Wade
A. K. Fairweather-Schmidt*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
T. D. Wade
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
*
* Address for correspondence: Dr A. K. Fairweather-Schmidt, Ph.D., School of Psychology, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, South Australia, 5001, Australia. (Email: [email protected])
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Abstract

Background

We investigated the genetic and environmental contributions to disordered eating (DE) between early and late adolescence in order to determine whether different sources of heritability and environmental risk contributed to these peak times of emergence of eating disorders.

Method

Adolescent female twins from the Australian Twin Registry were interviewed over the telephone with the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE). Data were collected at 12–15 and 16–19 years (wave 1: N = 699, 351 pairs; wave 3: N = 499, 247 pairs). Assessments also involved self-report measures related to negative life events and weight-related peer teasing.

Results

Unstandardized estimates from the bivariate Cholesky decomposition model showed both genetic influences and non-shared environmental influences increased over adolescence, but shared environmental influences decreased. While non-shared environmental sources active at ages 12–15 years continued to contribute at 16–19 years, new sources of both additive genetic and non-shared environmental risk were introduced at ages 16–19 years. Weight-related peer teasing in early-mid adolescence predicted increases of DE in later adolescence, while negative life events did not.

Conclusions

Two-thirds of the heritable influence contributing to DE in late adolescence was unique to this age group. During late adolescence independent sources of genetic risk, as well as environmental influences are likely to be related in part to peer teasing, appear key antecedents in growth of DE.

Keywords

AdolescentsenvironmentalgeneticGlobal EDElongitudinaltwins
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 45 , Issue 15 , November 2015 , pp. 3249 - 3258
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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