Anorexia not just a psychiatric problem, scientists find

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Anorexia not just a psychiatric problem, scientists find

Discovery of metabolic causes opens door to new treatments for dangerous eating disorder

Ian Sample Science editor
@iansample
Mon 15 Jul 2019 16.00 BST Last modified on Tue 16 Jul 2019 01.00 BST

Scientists have found that the devastating eating disorder anorexia nervosa is not purely a psychiatric condition but is also driven by problems with metabolism.

The finding may help to explain doctors’ poor record in treating the illness and pave the way for radical new approaches to predict and treat those who are most at risk.

Researchers made the discovery after comparing the DNA of nearly 17,000 people with anorexia and more than 55,000 healthy controls. Those with anorexia submitted their DNA through the Anorexia Nervosa Genetics Initiative or the eating disorders working group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium.

The study revealed eight genes that linked anorexia to anxiety, depression and obsessive compulsive disorder, all of which was expected. But it also flagged up DNA involved in burning fat, being physically active and having resistance to type 2 diabetes.

“What our study means is we can no longer treat anorexia, and perhaps other eating disorders, as purely psychiatric or psychological,” said Gerome Breen, a geneticist at King’s College London who co-led the study with US researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jul/15/anorexia-not-just-a-psychiatric-problem-scientists-find

[nocoincidences]

1. As a neuroscientist

I am pretty certain that eventually all psychiatric disorders will be revealed to have genetic, physiological underpinnings.

[Maraya1969]

3. Have you heard of the recent connection between allergies and psychiatric problems?

I believe I have experienced this one when I was exposed to formaldehyde years ago. I experienced severe anxiety symptoms along with swollen lips and tongue.

[nocoincidences]

4. My PhD program

was focused on Behavioral Medicine and several courses were devoted to the connection between allergies and behavior, especially food allergies.

There is a lot of literature in journals about this.

Did your symptoms abate, or are they still bothering you?

Sometimes an allergen elicits an extraordinary response from the immune system that makes you susceptible to other triggers.

Unfortunately this is an area that there are few experts in, but holistically oriented physicians are more likely to understand the connections.

Mast cell disorders sometimes underlie generalized allergic responses, if you are having those.

[dhol82]

2. I just question why anorexia doesn't seem to show up in poverty stricken places

Is the cause hiding among the food deprived?

[unblock]

5. I think eventually we'll find all persistent metabolic disorders are only secondarily psychological

To me, the evident pattern of the persistently severely overweight or persistently severely underweight will eventually be found to be caused primarily by dna, bacteria or viruses, and/or the microbiome. The psychology to me seems secondary, more symptom than cause.

I think the results of treatment loosely support this hypothesis. People behave like they're underlying condition is not really being treated and are often only ever able to achieve short-term improvement with considerable interventions but rarely are able to keep this up long-term.

My experience talking with people who are very over or underweight is that their appetite corresponds strongly with their weight.

The very underweight have appetites that shut down quickly, making eating further very unpleasant for them. Conversely, the very overweight have strong appetites, making limiting intake very uncomfortable.

Though people don't like to think of it this way, much of our thought processes are epiphenomena of the physical and chemical and biological activity going on in our bodies.