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Binge eating disorder: a symptom-level investigation of genetic and environmental influences on liability

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2010

K. S. Mitchell ,
M. C. Neale ,
C. M. Bulik ,
S. H. Aggen ,
K. S. Kendler  and
S. E. Mazzeo
K. S. Mitchell
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA Virginia Institute for Psychiatric & Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
M. C. Neale
Affiliation:
Virginia Institute for Psychiatric & Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA Department of Human Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
C. M. Bulik
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychiatry and Nutrition, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
S. H. Aggen
Affiliation:
Virginia Institute for Psychiatric & Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
K. S. Kendler
Affiliation:
Virginia Institute for Psychiatric & Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
S. E. Mazzeo*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA Virginia Institute for Psychiatric & Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA Department of Pediatrics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
*
*Address for correspondence to: Dr S. E. Mazzeo, Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, PO Box 842018, Richmond, VA23284-2018. (Email: semazzeo@vcu.edu)
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Abstract

Background

Recent behavioral genetic studies have emphasized the importance of investigating eating disorders at the level of individual symptoms, rather than as overall diagnoses. We examined the heritability of binge eating disorder (BED) using an item-factor analytic approach, which estimates contributions of additive genetic (A), common environmental (C), and unique environmental (E) influences on liability to BED as well as individual symptoms.

Method

Participants were 614 monozygotic and 410 dizygotic same-sex female twins from the Mid-Atlantic Twin Registry who completed a self-report measure of BED symptoms based upon DSM-IV criteria. Genetic and environmental contributions to BED liability were assessed at the diagnostic and symptom levels, using an item-factor approach.

Results

Liability to BED was moderately heritable; 45% of the variance was due to A, with smaller proportions due to C (13%), and E (42%). Additive genetic effects accounted for 29–43% of the variance in individual items, while only 8–14% was due to C.

Conclusions

Results highlight the relevance of examining eating disorders at the symptom level, rather than focusing on aggregate diagnoses.

Keywords

Binge eating disorderheritabilityitem-factor modeltwins.
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 40 , Issue 11 , November 2010 , pp. 1899 - 1906
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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