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.
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7160, USA.
Millie
M
Maxwell
Laura M
LM
Thornton
Tammy L
TL
Root
Andrea Poyastro
AP
Pinheiro
Michael
M
Strober
Harry
H
Brandt
Steve
S
Crawford
Scott
S
Crow
Manfred M
MM
Fichter
Katherine A
KA
Halmi
Craig
C
Johnson
Allan S
AS
Kaplan
Pamela
P
Keel
Kelly L
KL
Klump
Maria
M
LaVia
James E
JE
Mitchell
Kathy
K
Plotnicov
Alessandro
A
Rotondo
D Blake
DB
Woodside
Wade H
WH
Berrettini
Walter H
WH
Kaye
Cynthia M
CM
Bulik
D000328:Adult; D004522:Educational Status; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D012098:Reproduction; D012944:Social Support