Life beyond the eating disorder: education, relationships, and reproduction.
OBJECTIVE
We investigated the sociodemographic characteristics in women with and without lifetime eating disorders.


METHODS
Participants were from a multisite international study of eating disorders (N = 2,096). Education level, relationship status, and reproductive status were examined across eating disorder subtypes and compared with a healthy control group.


RESULTS
Overall, women with eating disorders were less educated than controls, and duration of illness and age of onset were associated with educational attainment. Menstrual status was associated with both relationship and reproductive status, but eating disorder subtypes did not differ significantly from each other or from healthy controls on these dimensions.


CONCLUSIONS
Differences in educational attainment, relationships, and reproduction do exist in individuals with eating disorders and are differentially associated with various eating disorder symptoms and characteristics. These data could assist in educating patients and family members about long-term consequences of eating disorders.
Maxwell
Millie
M
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7160, USA.
Thornton
Laura M
LM
Root
Tammy L
TL
Pinheiro
Andrea Poyastro
AP
Strober
Michael
M
Brandt
Harry
H
Crawford
Steve
S
Crow
Scott
S
Fichter
Manfred M
MM
Halmi
Katherine A
KA
Johnson
Craig
C
Kaplan
Allan S
AS
Keel
Pamela
P
Klump
Kelly L
KL
LaVia
Maria
M
Mitchell
James E
JE
Plotnicov
Kathy
K
Rotondo
Alessandro
A
Woodside
D Blake
DB
Berrettini
Wade H
WH
Kaye
Walter H
WH
Bulik
Cynthia M
CM
D000328:Adult; D004522:Educational Status; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D012098:Reproduction; D012944:Social Support