1,720,982 research outputs found
Season of birth bias in eating disorders - fact or fiction?
No full textObjective: A season of birth (SoB) bias is said to be present if the SoB pattern for a particular group varies from the pattern within the normal population. Significant biases have been found for several disorders including eating disorders (EDs). This article critically reviews the existing literature on SoB in ED in order to inform future hypothesis-based research.Method: A literature search identified 12 papers investigating SoB in ED.Results: Despite methodological differences, the studies consistently show a SoB bias for anorexia nervosa (AN) in the spring months, in both the northern and southern Hemispheres. This is especially strong for early-onset and restrictive subtype of AN.Conclusion: These findings suggest that SoB is a risk factor for AN. However, none of the studies have been methodologically satisfactory. Future research needs to overcome numerous methodological challenges and to explore specific hypotheses to explain this bias
Reliability and validity of the child version of the Eating Disorder Examination: a preliminary investigation
No full textObjective: The Eating Disorder Examination (EDE) is a reliable and valid semistructured interview that measures the specific psychopathology of anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa. The current study aims to investigate the psychometric properties of the child adaptation of the EDE (ChEDE 12.0).Method: The ChEDE was administered to 15 children with AN, 15 children with other clinical eating disturbances, and two groups of 15 age-matched controls. The groups were compared using a two-sample matched groups design.Results: Alpha coefficients for each of the ChEDE subscales indicated a high degree of internal consistency, and interrater reliability was found to be high (r = .91 to r = 1.00). The subscale scores of the AN group were significantly higher than those of the other groups, whereas the other eating disturbance group did not differ from its control group.Discussion: The ChEDE differentiates children with AN from children with other forms of clinical eating disturbance and control children
Pattern of birth in anorexia nervosa I: early-onset cases in the United Kingdom
No full textOBJECTIVES: Previous studies suggest that adults with anorexia nervosa are more likely to be born in spring and early summer. This study examines whether this pattern of birth is true of early-onset anorexia nervosa, and whether there is a relationship between environmental temperature at assumed time of conception and a later diagnosis of anorexia nervosa.METHOD: The population were children and adolescents with diagnoses of anorexia nervosa (N = 259) or "other eating disorders" (N = 149). Distribution of births across the year was compared between groups and relative to standard population norms. Temperature at assumed time of conception was taken from meteorological records.RESULTS: There was a significant preponderance of births among those with anorexia nervosa between April and June, compared with the other months of the year and with the "other eating disorders" group. Anorexia nervosa was also associated with higher environmental temperature at assumed time of conception.CONCLUSIONS: Among early-onset cases in the United Kingdom, patients with anorexia nervosa are more likely to be born between April and June, and to be conceived during warmer months. A tentative "temperature at conception" hypothesis is advanced to explain these findings and to generate further research
Personality or pathology?: Obsessive–compulsive symptoms in children and adolescents with anorexia nervosa
No full textBackground: Numerous studies have addressed obsessive– compulsive features in adults with anorexia nervosa (AN), but few have been conducted with younger patients. The aim of this study was to describe the frequency and severity of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms and obsessive–compulsive personality (OCP) traits, and to explore the relationships between AN, OCD symptoms and OCP traits in young people.Method: Forty-nine children and adolescents with AN completed measures assessing eating disorder psychopathology, OCD symptoms, OCP traits and perfectionism.Results: Fifty-one per cent displayed clinically significant levels of OCD symptoms and 16% clinically significant OCP traits. Statistically significant positive relationships were found between AN and OCD symptoms and between OCD symptoms and OCP traits. However, no relationships were found between AN and OCP traits.Conclusion: This study suggests approximately half of young people with AN may have clinically significant OCD symptoms. Such findings indicate careful assessment for OCD is important in this group
Pattern of birth in adults with anorexia nervosa
No full textWhile women with anorexia nervosa are more likely to be born in March through June (in the northern hemisphere), there is no coherent model that explains this association. This study examined the birth pattern of adult restrictive and binge-purge anorexics and whether environmental temperature at assumed conception is a relevant factor. Retrospective analysis of the case notes of 195 adult anorexics was used to determine diagnosis, date of birth, eating attitudes, and body mass index. Meteorological records were used to determine temperature at assumed point of conception. Restrictive anorexics were significantly more likely than binge-purge anorexics to be born in April through June (, conceived July through September). A higher environmental temperature at the point of assumed conception was more likely to be found in restrictive anorexics than in anorexics of the binge-purge subtype. A higher environmental temperature at the assumed point of conception was associated with more restrictive eating attitudes during adulthood, but only among the restrictive anorexics. Possible explanations and implications of these findings are discussed
Pattern of birth in anorexia nervosa II: a comparison of early-onset cases in the southern and northern hemispheres
No full textObjective: In the northern hemisphere, people with anorexia nervosa are more likely to be born in the spring and early summer, particularly when environmental temperature at assumed time of conception is warmer. This study investigates whether there is a comparable effect in the southern hemisphere (Australia), where seasonal and temperature patterns are reversed.Method: Date of birth and temperature at assumed time of conception were collected for 199 Australian and 259 UK patients with early-onset anorexia nervosa. Analyses determined patterns of birth and links to temperature at conception.Results: There was little change across the year in the birth patterns of young people with anorexia nervosa in the southern hemisphere. However, there was a significant link between temperature at assumed time of conception and diagnostic subtype. Compared with anorexics of the binge/purge subtype, restrictive anorexics from the southern hemisphere were less likely to be conceived in relatively cool weather.Conclusions: The findings support a temperature at conception hypothesis (modified for local temperature ranges), rather than suggesting a simple seasonal pattern of birth
Family physician consultation patterns indicate high risk for early-onset anorexia nervosa
No full textObjective:
There is often a delay in the recognition of early-onset anorexia nervosa. The current study aimed to determine whether there are specific patterns in the frequency and content of family physician consultations that might predict its onset.Method:
Lifetime number and type of family physician consultations were recorded for three groups: (a) an index group comprising 19 girls with anorexia nervosa, onset under 14; (b) a clinical control group comprising 19 girls with an emotional disorder; and (c) a nonclinical group comprising 19 girls with no history of mental health problems.Results:
Both clinical groups had an elevated number of consultations, particularly in the 5 years before diagnosis. The index group had a significantly higher number of eating, weight, and shape consultations (especially in the year before diagnosis), whereas the clinical control group had a greater number of psychological consultations.Conclusion:
A single consultation about eating behaviour or weight and shape concerns is a strong predictor of the subsequent emergence of anorexia nervosa
Pattern of birth in early-onset anorexia nervosa: an equatorial study
No full textObjective: Patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) born in the northern and southern hemispheres are more likely to be born during spring months than at any other time of the year. It has been hypothesized that environmental temperature at the time of conception may have a significant role in this pattern of findings. The current study aims to investigate the pattern of birth of early-onset AN patients in an equatorial region (Singapore), where there is little difference in environmental temperature throughout the year.Method: Dates of birth were collected for 102 patients who were born in Singapore and diagnosed with early-onset AN. The patterns of birth were analyzed using chi-square analysis.Results: There was no difference across the year in the birth patterns of patients with early-onset AN in Singapore, nor were there any differences between patients with restrictive and binge/purge AN.Discussion: This lack of seasonal variation in the equator adds support to the "temperature at conception" hypothesis
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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