Season of birth in females with anorexia nervosa in Northeast Scotland

• Published in: The International journal of eating disorders Vol. 30; no. 2; pp. 167 - 175
• Main Authors: Eagles, John M., Andrew, Jane E., Johnston, Maureen I., Easton, Euan A., Millar, Harry R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.09.2001; Wiley; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Anorexia; Anorexia - epidemiology; Anorexia - etiology; Anorexia nervosa; Biological and medical sciences; Birth Certificates; birth rate; Births; Cohort Studies; Eating behavior disorders; Eating disorders; Epidemiology; Female; Humans; Incidence; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; schizophrenia; Scotland - epidemiology; Seasons; Women; United Kingdom; Scotland; Great Britain; Europe; Social environment; Human; Prevalence; Mental health; Anorexia nervosa; Eating disorder; Birth date; Epidemiology; Retrospective; Etiology; Seasonal variation; Female; Comparative study; Public health
• ISSN: 0276-3478; 1098-108X
• DOI: 10.1002/eat.1069

Objective To determine whether patients with anorexia nervosa exhibit an abnormal pattern in their season of birth. Method Case records of female patients presenting to secondary services in Northeast Scotland from 1965 to 1997 who received a clinical diagnosis of anorexia nervosa were examined. The months of birth of the 446 anorexic patients with a confirmed diagnosis were compared with 5,766 female control subjects born locally in 1951, 1961, 1971, and 1981. Results Patients with anorexia nervosa had an excess of births in the first 6 months of the year (p = .013). The greatest excess was from March to June. Discussion This provides further evidence that birth dates of anorexics peak in the late spring and early summer. There are parallels with the epidemiology of schizophrenia. The evidence suggests that a seasonally fluctuating factor, most plausibly an intrauterine effect of common infectious agents during the winter months, is of etiological significance. © 2001 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 30: 167–175, 2001.