Eating disorders in a community-based sample of women with alcohol use disorder and nicotine dependence

• Published in: Drug and alcohol dependence 2020-07, Vol.212, p.107981-107981, Article 107981
• Main Authors: Munn-Chernoff, Melissa A., Few, Lauren R., Matherne, Camden E., Baker, Jessica H., Men, Vera Yu, McCutcheon, Vivia V., Agrawal, Arpana, Bucholz, Kathleen K., Madden, Pamela A.F., Heath, Andrew C., Duncan, Alexis E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescent girls; Alcohol; Alcohol related disorders; Alcohol use; Alcoholism; Alcoholism - diagnosis; Alcoholism - epidemiology; Anorexia; Anorexia nervosa; Bulimia nervosa; Child; Child & adolescent psychiatry; Community; Comorbidity; Demography; Dependence; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Drug dependence; Eating disorder symptoms; Eating disorders; Feeding and Eating Disorders - diagnosis; Feeding and Eating Disorders - epidemiology; Female; High risk; Humans; Independent Living - trends; Medical diagnosis; Mental disorders; Missouri - epidemiology; Nicotine; Prevalence; Psychopathology; Purging; Purging disorder; Regression analysis; Regression models; Robustness (mathematics); Signs and symptoms; Substance use; Substance use disorder; Tobacco Use Disorder - diagnosis; Tobacco Use Disorder - epidemiology; Twin studies; Twins; Women; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0376-8716; 1879-0046
• DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.107981

•Eating disorders co-occur with alcohol use disorder and nicotine dependence.•Few studies have examined eating disorders in individuals with substance use disorders.•We examined associations between two substance use disorders and eating disorders.•Two eating disorders were associated with both substance use disorders.•Eating disorder symptoms were also associated with these substance use disorders. Studies consistently report a higher prevalence of substance use disorders (SUDs) among women with eating disorders than control women. However, limited research exists on the prevalence of eating disorder symptoms and diagnoses in women with SUDs, especially in community-based populations. We examined the prevalence of eating disorder symptoms and diagnosis by the presence or absence of lifetime alcohol use disorder (AUD) and/or nicotine dependence (ND) in a community-based sample of women. 3756 women (median age = 22 years) from the Missouri Adolescent Female Twin Study completed a modified semi-structured interview assessing lifetime DSM-IV psychiatric disorders and SUDs. Logistic regression models adjusted for demographic characteristics and other psychopathology, and robust standard errors accounted for the non-independence of twin data. In general, women with comorbid AUD and ND had a higher prevalence of eating disorder symptoms and diagnoses than women with AUD or ND Only, who in turn had a higher prevalence than those without either SUD. After adjustment for covariates, women with AUD and ND had significantly greater risk of broad anorexia nervosa (RRR = 3.17; 99 % CI = 1.35, 7.44), purging disorder (2.59; 1.24, 5.43), and numerous eating disorder symptoms than women with neither disorder. Significant differences emerged between individuals with both AUD and ND versus women with AUD Only or ND Only for some eating disorder symptoms. Women with lifetime AUD or ND diagnoses are at high risk for eating disorder symptoms and diagnoses, underscoring the importance of assessing eating disorder symptoms among women with these disorders.