Abused Girls at Risk
of Later
Eating Disorders
(May 27, 2004) - Women who were physically abused as children are twice as likely as other
women to suffer from an eating disorder, new study findings show. Researchers at
Harvard Medical School found that among 732 women between the age of 36 and 44,
those who said they were physically abused in childhood were at twice the risk
of having either a full-blown eating disorder or at least some symptoms of one.
The risk was even greater among women who were abused both physically and
sexually as girls, according to findings published in the medical journal
Epidemiology.
Childhood abuse has long been thought a risk factor for eating disorders such
as
anorexia and
bulimia. Abuse can make victims feel powerless, the study
authors note, and eating disorders are thought to arise, in part, from a desire
to take control of one aspect of life.
Most studies, however, have focused on the role of sexual abuse in eating
disorder risk, according to the Harvard team.
Dr. Bernard L. Harlow and associates surveyed women on whether they ever
suffered physical or sexual abuse as children. Abuse included actual assault as
well as the fear of being abused or seeing a family member victimized.
Assessments for anorexia, bulimia or binge-eating disorder showed that
overall, 102 women had some symptoms, while 49 met the criteria doctors use to
diagnose the disorders.
Those who were
physically abused as girls were twice as likely as those
reporting no abuse to have an eating disorder or some symptoms of one. These
risks were three to four times higher among women who reported both physical and
sexual abuse.
Sexual abuse alone did not seem to be a risk factor, Harlow's team found.
However, they point out, only a small number of women reported sexual abuse,
which makes it hard to draw conclusions.
The overall findings, they say, underscore the need for doctors to screen for
physical and sexual abuse for both the treatment and prevention of eating
disorders.
SOURCE: Epidemiology, May 2004.
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