Genetics plays a significant role in determining whether an individual will be susceptible to developing anorexia nervosa. However, a complex interaction between environmental and biological factors actually produces the condition.
The Academy for Eating Disorders describes the most direct evidence for inherited factors. According to the Academy, if one of two identical twins suffers from anorexia or bulimia, the second twin is at far greater risk for developing the same condition than a fraternal twin. While identical (monozygotic) twins develop from the same egg or zygote, fraternal (dizygotic) twins do not. The difference is even greater between identical twins and non-twins.
The odds of even a relative of an anorexic developing the disorder are much better than random chance. In an article for the American Anorexia/Bulimia Association, Natalia Zunino, Ph.D. notes that relatives of eating disordered patients are four to five times more likely to develop such an illness than the general public.
According to a March 2, 1998, online article in Scientific American, anorexia is particularly likely to be found in families with a history of depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In fact, 50% of anorexics suffer from clinical depression and OCD. Research shows that 7 out of 10 anorexics are depression-prone, as are many of their family members.1
Dr. Joel Yager has reported that between 3 and 10 percent of anorexics have anorexic siblings.2 Higher correlations have been found in parent-child studies.3
Recognition of this genetic factor is leading to the development of drugs that help anorexics maintain normal weight. Even long-term recovered anorexics have excess levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter in the brain.4 Dr. Walter Kaye studied 31 anorexics treated with fluoxetine, a serotonin blocker. Twenty-nine of them maintained over 85% of their weight up to 17 months after hospital discharge.5
Although no one medication can cure anorexia, many medications can reduce symptoms. Treatment must be specifically tailored to the patient. An individualized program of medication and psychotherapy is probably most effective.6 Dawn Ries, a recovered anorexic and office administrator of the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD), has stressed the importance of support groups.7
 |
Go To Page: 1 2
