Genetics of Anorexia and Bulimia

Dr. Walter Kaye, director of research at the Eating Disorders Program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, believes that 50 to 80 percent of anorexia and bulimia is determined by a person’s genes. Thus far, chromosome 1 has been implicated and a study financed by the National Institute of Mental Health is examining more than 400 extended families with two or more members who have the disorder.

Genes involved in regulating dopamine and serotonin production and their corresponding receptors may be involved. Women with anorexia appear to be more sensitive to dopamine which means less is needed to make them feel at equilibrium. Since food stimulates dopamine release, women with anorexia may need less food to feel “full”.

Like autism and schizophrenia, mothers were often blamed for their daughters’ eating disorders, which affect between 1.25 percent and 3.5 percent of American women (approximately 10 million). And among these women, 10 percent will die of the disease over a 20-year period — the highest fatality figure for any major psychiatric disorder.

There is hope, however, for those who recover from anorexia:

“The people who recover actually do pretty well in life,” Kaye said. “They have traits for achievement, drive and motivation that have beneficial effects if they get past the anorexia. People with anorexia, for example, are great at paying attention to detail,” and many who recover are able to forge successful careers in fields where detail matters, such as engineering, research and medicine.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 12, 2005