Very little is known concerning the secular and longitudinal trends associated with bulimic syndromes. This study offers a unique opportunity to 1) examine rates of bulimia nervosa (BN) and eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS) across 1982, 1992, and 2002 in college students, 2) examine and compare the longitudinal courses of BN and EDNOS at 10- and 20-year follow-up, and 3) evaluate secular trends, longitudinal course, and prognostic utility of eating disorder-related variables such as weight, body image disturbance, dieting, and disordered eating behaviors. Thus, this investigation could provide much needed data for a significant source of psychiatric morbidity among young adult women. In the springs of 1982 and 1992, a total of 2400 Harvard undergraduates (1600 women and 800 men) were randomly sampled to participate in a study of weight, body image disturbance, dieting, disordered eating behaviors, and BN. In 1992, participants in the 1982 study were contacted to participate in a follow-up study. In the spring of 2002, this study proposes to collect data from a new cohort of undergraduates (800 women and 400 men) and to contact participants from the 1992 and 1982 cohorts (1189 women and 511 men) for 10- and 20-year follow-up evaluations, respectively. The investigation will be conducted in two phases: a survey phase and an interview phase. The survey phase will replicate methods employed for data collection in 1982 and 1992 in order to insure comparability of results. Surveys include items about demographic background, height and weight; concerns about dieting, body weight, and shape; 5 scales of the Eating Disorders Inventory (Buhrnia. Drive for Thinness, Maturity Fears, Perfectionism, and Interpersonal Distrust); and BN symptoms. In addition, surveys will include the Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale for termination of DSM-IV symptoms of anorexia nervosa, BN, and binge eating disorder. On the basis of self-report survey data, all subjects diagnosed with BN or EDNOS and controls matched to these subjects on age, sex, race, ethnicity, and SES will be recruited for participation in the interview phase of the study. Interviews will establish the validity of survey assessments, as well as provide data on psychosocial function, comorbidity, and treatment history for a nonclinical sample of individuals with eating pathology. The long-term goals of this study are to capture the changing epidemiology of bulimic disorders; to evaluate the long-term correlates and consequences of bulimic syndromes that support meaningful distinctions between BN and its subthreshold forms; and to identify contributants to the development, maintenance, and outcome of BN.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01MH063758-02
Application #
6624328
Study Section
Epidemiology and Disease Control Subcommittee 2 (EDC)
Program Officer
Colpe, Lisa J
Project Start
2002-04-01
Project End
2003-08-31
Budget Start
2003-04-01
Budget End
2003-08-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2003
Total Cost
$101,019
Indirect Cost
Name
Harvard University
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
082359691
City
Cambridge
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02138
Keel, Pamela K; Jean Forney, K; Buchman-Schmitt, Jennifer M et al. (2018) Examining the link between weight suppression and non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors. Eat Behav 30:66-71
Bodell, Lindsay P; Brown, Tiffany A; Keel, Pamela K (2017) Weight suppression predicts bulimic symptoms at 20-year follow-up: The mediating role of drive for thinness. J Abnorm Psychol 126:32-37
Klein, Kelly M; Forney, K Jean; Keel, Pamela K (2016) A preliminary evaluation of the validity of binge-eating disorder defining features in a community-based sample. Int J Eat Disord 49:524-8
Brown, Tiffany A; Keel, Pamela K (2015) Relationship status predicts lower restrictive eating pathology for bisexual and gay men across 10-year follow-up. Int J Eat Disord 48:700-7
Holland, Lauren A; Brown, Tiffany A; Keel, Pamela K (2014) Defining Features of Unhealthy Exercise Associated with Disordered Eating and Eating Disorder Diagnoses. Psychol Sport Exerc 15:
Brown, Tiffany A; Holland, Lauren A; Keel, Pamela K (2014) Comparing operational definitions of DSM-5 anorexia nervosa for research contexts. Int J Eat Disord 47:76-84
Swanson, Sonja A; Brown, Tiffany A; Crosby, Ross D et al. (2014) What are we missing? The costs versus benefits of skip rule designs. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res 23:474-85
Brown, Tiffany A; Keel, Pamela K (2013) The impact of relationships, friendships, and work on the association between sexual orientation and disordered eating in men. Eat Disord 21:342-59
Keel, Pamela K; Forney, K Jean; Brown, Tiffany A et al. (2013) Influence of college peers on disordered eating in women and men at 10-year follow-up. J Abnorm Psychol 122:105-10
Keel, Pamela K; Crosby, Ross D; Hildebrandt, Thomas B et al. (2013) Evaluating new severity dimensions in the DSM-5 for bulimic syndromes using mixture modeling. Int J Eat Disord 46:108-18

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