Results of the population-based study, published in JAMA Psychiatry, found that infections that required hospitalization or treatment with anti-infective medications, such as antibiotics, antifungals...
Lauren Breithaupt, Ole Köhler-Forsberg, Janne Tidselbak Larsen
JAMA Psychiatry-2019
Findings: 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.
Meaning: The findings suggest that prior exposure to infections and treatment with anti-infective agents are associated with the development of eating disorders, supporting an emerging immunologic hypothesis.