Lifetime substance abuse, family history of alcohol abuse/dependence and novelty seeking in eating disorders: comparison study of eating disorder subgroups.
OBJECTIVE
To assess lifetime substance abuse, family history of alcohol abuse/dependence, and novelty seeking in three different eating disorder groups (anorexia nervosa-restrictive; anorexia nervosa-binge eating/purging; anorexia nervosa to bulimia nervosa).


METHODS
A total sample of 371 eating disorder patients participated in the current study. Assessment measures included the prevalence of substance abuse and family history of alcohol abuse/dependence as well as the novelty-seeking subscale of the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised.


RESULTS
Significant differences across groups were detected for lifetime substance abuse, with anorexia nervosa-restrictive individuals exhibiting a significant lower prevalence than the anorexia nervosa to bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa-binge eating/ purging patients (P < 0.01). For family history of alcohol abuse/dependence the same pattern was observed (P = 0.04). Novelty seeking was associated with substance abuse (P = 0.002), with the anorexia nervosa to bulimia nervosa group exhibiting significantly higher scores on the novelty-seeking scale than the other two groups (P < 0.001). But family history of alcohol abuse/dependence was not related to novelty seeking (P = 0.092).


CONCLUSIONS
Lifetime substance abuse appears to be more prevalent in anorexia nervosa patients with bulimic features. Higher novelty-seeking scores may be associated with diagnosis cross-over.
Krug
Isabel
I
Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Bellvitge and Ciber Fisiopatologia Obesidad y Nutricion (CIBERobn), Instituto Salud Carlos III, Barcelona, Spain.
Pinheiro
Andrea Poyastro
AP
Bulik
Cynthia
C
Jiménez-Murcia
Susana
S
Granero
Roser
R
Penelo
Eva
E
Masuet
Cristina
C
Agüera
Zaida
Z
Fernández-Aranda
Fernando
F
D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D000855:Anorexia / Q000523:psychology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002032:Bulimia / Q000523:psychology; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005190:Family; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D010551:Personality / Q000502:physiology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult