TY - JOUR
T1 - Morbidity risk for obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders in first-degree relatives of patients with eating disorders
AU - Bellodi, L.
AU - Cavallini, M. C.
AU - Bertelli, S.
AU - Chiapparino, D.
AU - Riboldi, C.
AU - Smeraldi, E.
PY - 2001
Y1 - 2001
N2 - Objective: A hypothesis that eating disorders are a phenomenological variant of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been proposed. This study was conducted to determine whether anorexia nervosa and bulimia, the two main eating disorders, are familial and whether the risk for obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders (OCD and tic disorders) is higher in families of patients with eating disorders. Method: The morbidity risk for obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders in first-degree relatives of 136 female probands with eating disorders (84 with anorexia nervosa, 52 with bulimia) was compared to that for first-degree relatives of 72 female comparison subjects. Results: The morbidity risk for obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders was significantly higher among the 436 relatives of the eating disorder probands than among the 358 relatives of the comparison subjects (9.69% versus 0%). This finding was independent of any comorbid diagnosis of an obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorder in the eating disorder probands. The eating disorder group and the comparison group did not differ in familial risk for eating disorders and tic disorders. Conclusions: To better understand the genetic components of eating disorders, these disorders should be considered as part of the obsessive-compulsive spectrum of disorders.
AB - Objective: A hypothesis that eating disorders are a phenomenological variant of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been proposed. This study was conducted to determine whether anorexia nervosa and bulimia, the two main eating disorders, are familial and whether the risk for obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders (OCD and tic disorders) is higher in families of patients with eating disorders. Method: The morbidity risk for obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders in first-degree relatives of 136 female probands with eating disorders (84 with anorexia nervosa, 52 with bulimia) was compared to that for first-degree relatives of 72 female comparison subjects. Results: The morbidity risk for obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders was significantly higher among the 436 relatives of the eating disorder probands than among the 358 relatives of the comparison subjects (9.69% versus 0%). This finding was independent of any comorbid diagnosis of an obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorder in the eating disorder probands. The eating disorder group and the comparison group did not differ in familial risk for eating disorders and tic disorders. Conclusions: To better understand the genetic components of eating disorders, these disorders should be considered as part of the obsessive-compulsive spectrum of disorders.
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U2 - 10.1176/appi.ajp.158.4.563
DO - 10.1176/appi.ajp.158.4.563
M3 - Article
C2 - 11282689
AN - SCOPUS:0035075831
VL - 158
SP - 563
EP - 569
JO - American Journal of Psychiatry
JF - American Journal of Psychiatry
SN - 0002-953X
IS - 4
ER -