title: Is season of birth related to disordered eating and personality in women with eating disorders?
abstract: We assessed the relation between season of birth and eating disorder symptoms and personality characteristics in a sample of 880 women with eating disorders and 580 controls from two Price Foundation Studies. Eating disorder symptoms were assessed using the Structured Interview of Anorexic and Bulimic Disorders and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. Personality traits were assessed using the Temperament and Character Inventory and the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale. Date of birth was obtained from a sociodemographic questionnaire. No significant differences were observed 1) in season of birth across eating disorder subtypes and controls; nor 2) for any clinical or personality variables and season of birth. We found no evidence of season of birth variation in eating disorders symptoms or personality traits. Contributing to previous conflicting findings, the present results do not support a season of birth hypothesis for eating disorders.
authors.affiliation: Maggie L Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: N K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Shuman
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Krug
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maxwell
authors.forename: A Poyastro
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Pinheiro
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Brewerton
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Thornton
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Berrettini
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Brandt
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Crawford
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Crow
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Fichter
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Halmi
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Keel
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lavia
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rotondo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Strober
authors.forename: D Blake
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Woodside
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Kaye
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Bulik
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D036801:Parturition; D010551:Personality; D012621:Seasons; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult