Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine longitudinal patterns of growth trajectories in children of women with eating disorders (ED): anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN). DESIGN: Prospective longitudinal birth cohort; Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). SETTING: South West England, UK. PARTICIPANTS: The sample consisted of women and their children (n=10 190) from ALSPAC. Patterns of growth among children of women reporting a history of AN (n=137), BN (n=165), both AN and BN (n=68) and other psychiatric disorders (n=920) were compared with an unexposed group of children (n=8900). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Height and weight data, from birth to 10 years, were extracted from health visitor records, parental report from questionnaires and clinic attendances. Growth trajectories were analysed using mixed-effects models and constructed separately for male and female children. RESULTS: Between birth and 10 years, male children of women with BN were taller than children in the unexposed group. Male children of women with a history of AN and BN, and female children of women with AN, were shorter throughout childhood. Between the ages of 2 and 5, higher body mass index (BMI) was observed in male children in all maternal ED groups. Conversely, female children of women with AN had a BMI of -0.35 kg/m(2) lower at 2 years compared with the unexposed group, with catch-up by age 10. CONCLUSIONS: Early childhood growth has been found to predict weight gain in adolescence and adulthood, and may be a risk factor for the development of an ED. These findings therefore have public health implications in relation to the prevention of weight-related and eating-related disorders later in life.
Source: BMJ Open
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,806
Awards: G2137681132, G3404183131, The Avon Longitudinal Study for Parents and Children: An international resource for population genomic and lifecourse epidemiology. Core programme support 2014-2019., G5180428806, G6689231961, Treatment of Anorexia nervosa: Translating experimental neuroscience into clinical practice., G8747027155
OpenAlex ID: W2101981928