ORLANDO, FLA. — Maternal obesity and depression play a significant role in the long-term recovery of patients with bulimia nervosa, Aimee J. Arikian reported at an international conference sponsored by the Academy for Eating Disorders.
In a follow-up study of 95 women with bulimia who were previously involved in a randomized controlled study of imipramine and cognitive-behavioral therapy, maternal obesity—defined as the obesity of the patients' mothers—was shown to be associated with reduced symptoms.
Severe maternal depression was shown to be an independent predictor of continued bingeing and purging symptoms at up to 10 years follow-up, said Ms. Arikian, community program assistant at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
The presence of a lifetime affective disorder in the patient was also an independent predictor of continued bingeing and purging symptoms, she noted at the conference, cosponsored by the University of New Mexico.
Patients included in the initial study all had at least three weekly episodes of bingeing and purging for the previous 6 months. They completed a baseline questionnaire on family medical and psychiatric history, which revealed rates of maternal psychopathology as follows: 2·1% had an eating disorder, 6·3% were substance abusers, and 7·4% had severe depression. In addition, 12·7% of mothers were obese.
This rare, systematic assessment of parental pathology in eating disordered patients highlights the importance of maternal characteristics in recovery from bulimia, independent of patient psychopathology, Ms. Arikian said.