People with bipolar disorder have higher rates of anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and binge eating disorders, according to a new study from the University of Cincinnati. Their eating disorders also are more severe than average.
Bipolar disorder used to be called manic depression because it is characterized by cycles of mania and depression. About 5.7 million American adults are bipolar.
- Dr. Susan McElroy and her colleagues studied 875 people with bipolar disorders whose average age was 41 years old.
- More than 14 percent of the study subjects some eating disorder, with binge eating disorder being the most common.
- The 125 people in the study who suffered from both eating and bipolar disorders were more likely to have a family history of substance abuse, mood disorders, and to be women.
- Participants in the study who had anorexia tended to suffer from anxiety; those with bulimia were more likely to be overweight; and those with binge eating disorder were more likely to be obese.
"Substantial clinical and community data indicate that bipolar disorder co0iccyrs with substance abuse, anxiety, and impulse control disorders," Dr. McElroy said. "Another co- morbidity which has received far less systematic attention but which also may be important is that between bipolar disorders and eating disorders."
The study appears in the Journal of Affective Disorders.
Labels: mental-illness, bipolar
Posted By: Jane St. Clair