Trauma Associated with Anorexia Nervosa
There are many factors that can contribute to the development of anorexia, including both environmental and biological causes. Many of the environmental causes have been explored in studies, such as the association between a parent who is overly focused on dieting and a child who develops an eating disorder.
A new study conducted by Laura M. Thornton, PhD, research associated professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and colleagues, examined the association between trauma and the development of anorexia nervosa. While it has been known that there is often an appearance of anorexia in patients that have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the traumatic events that lead to PTSD usually occur before anorexia has emerged, according to Thornton and colleagues.
The researchers also found in their analysis of over 700 women with anorexia that among those with PTSD, the most common traumatic event reported was a sexually related trauma. The researchers explained that the results highlight the importance of exploring trauma history in patients with anorexia in order to tailor treatment specifically for the challenges that patient may have in recovering from anorexia in light of the trauma.
The study’s findings, published online in Psychosomatic Medicine, show an association that may help in discovering some contributing factors to the development of anorexia. However, the authors caution that the study simply shows an association, with no determination on causation between the trauma and anorexia.
The researchers evaluated data from 753 females over the age of 16, with a mean age of 29.5 years, who participated in the Genetics of Anorexia Nervosa Collaborative Study. The participants were each evaluated for type of eating disorder and an anorexia subtype. The four subtypes were restrictive behaviors with no binge eating or purging behaviors (RAN), purging without binging (PAN), binge eating without purging (BAN) and both anorexia and bulimia behavior (ANBN).
The results of the analysis of trauma showed that 39 percent of the women evaluated had experienced at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. However, 13.7 percent of the total participants met criteria for PTSD, which was found in 18.4 percent of women with PAN, 16.5 percent of those with BAN, 12.4 percent of those with ANBN, and 9.9 percent of those with RAN.
A total of 64.1 percent of those with PTSD reported that they experienced their first traumatic event before the onset of anorexia, with sexual abuse between 6 and 17 years being the most common event. Death or illness of a loved one was reported by 17.5 percent of the participants.
