Am J Psychiatry 1986; 143:290-299
Copyright © 1986 by American Psychiatric Association
The relationship between affective disorder and eating disorders: a review of the literature
WJ Swift, D Andrews and NE Barklage
The authors review the relationship between affective disorder and anorexia
nervosa and bulimia across five lines of inquiry: clinical reports,
psychometrics, family history, drug studies, and follow-up investigations.
They conclude that affective disorder and eating disorders are related but
that the nature of the relationship is unclear. After discussing possible
mediating patterns, the authors propose an interactive, multidetermined
understanding as the most appropriate model. They recommend that future
research in this area attempt to identify subpopulations of patients with
affective disorder and eating disorders by means of a longitudinal,
multilevel strategy with serial determinations.
