Female family members of women suffering from anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa develop the eating disorders at rates up to 12.3 times higher than those of women who have never suffered from the disorders, a new UCLA study shows.

The findings, published in the March issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, also show elevated levels of both disorders among family members of women with either anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa.

The project, the largest family study of eating disorders conducted to date, suggests a genetic basis for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, and a common source for the two disorders.

"This research provides powerful new evidence negating the myth that individuals with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are simply spoiled rich girls trying to be beautiful," said Dr. Michael Strober, lead author of the study and director of the Eating Disorders Program at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute.

"The findings strongly suggest that susceptibility to anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa reaches beyond environmental and social factors into the realm of medical and psychiatric disorders with an apparent genetic component," Strober said. "Growing understanding of this familial link will lead to improved prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disorders."

Individuals with anorexia nervosa suffer severe malnutrition because they refuse to eat enough to maintain a normal body weight. They often exercise excessively and sometimes use laxatives or induce vomiting in their efforts to lose weight. As the bodies of sufferers struggle to conserve resources, menstrual periods stop and the body starts to lose calcium from the bones. Severe cases can lead to an irregular heartbeat or heart failure as breathing, pulse and blood pressure rates decline.

Individuals with bulimia nervosa suffer from frequent eating binges after which they purge themselves of the food by vomiting or taking a laxative or diuretic. Regular exposure to stomach acid can cause chronic inflammation of the throat and tooth decay, while excessive use of laxatives of diuretics can cause intestinal and kidney problems, body chemistry imbalances and dehydration.

Overall, up to 0.6 percent of the general female population suffers from anorexia nervosa, while the frequency for bulimia nervosa is about 1 percent.

The UCLA study compared lifetime rates of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa in the immediate families of women suffering from one of the eating disorders, with rates among relatives of comparison subjects who have never suffered from the disorders. Rates of each disorder were obtained from 1,831 relatives of 504 individuals through interviews and examination of family histories.

The study showed that anorexia nervosa was rare in families of the comparison subjects, while the risk of full anorexia nervosa was 11.3 and 12.3 times higher in the female relatives of anorexic and bulimic women, respectively.

Bulimia nervosa was more common than anorexia nervosa in female relatives of comparison subjects, but the corresponding risk of full bulimia nervosa was 4.2 and 4.4 times higher for female relatives of anorexic and bulimic women, respectively.

In addition to Strober, members of the research team included Roberta Freeman, Carlyn Lampert and Jane Diamond, all of UCLA, and Walter Kaye of the University of Pittsburgh.

The UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital (NPI&H) together provide world-renowned leadership in the treatment of neuropsychiatric and behavioral disorders, in research to expand knowledge of these common problems, and in education in the field of mental health.

The Neuropsychiatric Hospital (NPH) is the flagship clinical facility and the home of much of the UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences. The three principal clinical divisions -- Adult Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Geriatric Psychiatry -- allow comprehensive care to be tailored to differing concerns across the lifespan.

For the past seven years, U.S. News & World Report has ranked NPH "Best in the West" and among the top 10 nationwide. The Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) judged NPH to have demonstrated "exemplary performance" when the organization awarded its highest accolade, Accreditation with Commendation.

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