title: Eating disorders and alcohol abuse in women.
abstract: Theory and empirical evidence support a relationship between the eating disorders (anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa) and alcoholism. This study examines the co-prevalence and characteristics of these disorders among two populations of adult women: those presenting for treatment of alcoholism and those referred to a specialized eating disorders programme. Twenty-two of 73 females (30.1%) with alcohol problems met psychometric cut-off scores for eating disorder, while 25 of the 96 eating disorder females (26.9%) gave psychometric evidence of alcohol dependence. These rates exceed general population norms. While certain clinical and psychometric features distinguish subgroups with both disorders, the basis for co-prevalence and the implications for treatment are unknown.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Toronto Hospital, Canada.
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Goldbloom
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Naranjo
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Bremner
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Hicks
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D002170:Canada; D015897:Comorbidity; D005192:Family Health; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011594:Psychometrics; D012737:Sex Factors