Breithaupt L, Köhler-Forsberg O, Larsen JT, Benros ME, Thornton LM, Bulik CM, Petersen L. Association of Exposure to Infections in Childhood With Risk of Eating Disorders in Adolescent Girls. JAMA Psychiatry. 2019 Aug 1;76(8):800-809. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.0297. Erratum in: JAMA Psychiatry. 2019 May 8;: PMID: 31017632; PMCID: PMC6487907.
In a Danish population-based cohort study of 525 643 adolescent girls, a prior infection in childhood was associated with an increased risk of later anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and eating disorder not otherwise specified.
The findings suggest that hospital-treated infections and less severe infections treated with anti-infective agents are associated with increased risk of subsequent anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and eating disorders not otherwise specified and that future studies should investigate whether these associations are causal and identify the exact mechanisms between infections and subsequent inflammatory processes with eating disorders.
Gabriella True
