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Dissecting childhood and adulthood obsessive-compulsive personality traits in eating disorders using a discordant sister-pair design: a multicenter European study

Isabel Krug1*, Natalie Kanakam2, Marija Anderluh3, Fernando Fernandez-Aranda4, Nadia Micali2, Emma Taborelli2, Kate Tchanturia5, Andreas Karwautz6, Gudrun Wagner6, David Collier5 and Janet Treasure5
  • 1 University of Melbourne, Australia
  • 2 University College London, United Kingdom
  • 3 University Psychiatric Hospital Ljubljana, Slovenia
  • 4 University Hospital of Bellvitge & CiberObn, Spain
  • 5 King's College London, United Kingdom
  • 6 Medical University of Vienna, Austria

Objective: To refine and identify genetic, behavioral and cultural underpinnings of childhood and adulthood OCPD traits by performing integrated research across various ED subtypes.
Method: In part A of the study 147 discordant sister pairs for EDs [Anorexia Nervosa-Restricting (AN-R)=37; AN-Binge Purging (AN-BP)=61; Bulimia Nervosa-Purging (BN-P)=42] were interviewed (using the EATATE) about their childhood and adulthood obsessive compulsive personality traits (OCPD). In part B the same OCPD traits were assessed in 320 ED patients (AN-R=89; AN-BP=136; BN=89) and in addition the EDI-2 and TCI-R were administered. DNA was also collected and four candidate genes (5-HT2A, BDNF, 5-HTTLPR, and DRD4) were genotyped. Whereas part A assessed differences between patients and sisters, part B compared ED patients with OCPD traits to ED individuals without these traits.
Results: The ED patients scored significantly higher than their healthy sisters on most childhood and adulthood OCPD traits (p<0.05). As regards to ED subdiagnoses, AN-BP patients scored significantly higher than the AN-R and BN-P individuals (p<0.05). A longer duration of dieting and exercising, higher levels of body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness and a negative personality constellation were positively related to OCPD traits (P<0.05). Cultural variations were also observed with the UK displaying the highest values for all of the assessed traits (p<0.05). Finally no significant fndings were obtained for the candidate genes assessed.
Discussion: OCPD traits provide a robust characteristic of EDs, especially for AN-BP individuals. These traits along with certain ED symptoms and related maladaptive personality profiles may provide an improved understanding of the topography and etiology of EDs.

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the European Union (Framework-V Multicenter Research Grant, QCK1-1999-916) and a Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship within the 7th European Community Framework Programme, as N° 254774 (call reference: FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IEF). Financial support was also received from Fondo de Investigacion Sanitario (PI11/210), Genralitat de Catalunya (2009SGR 1554), FI (2005 FI 00425) and Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Centro de Investigacion Biomedica en Red fisiopatologia de la Obesidad y Nutricion (Ciberobn) and Salud Mental (Cibersam).

References

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Keywords: Endophenotypes, 5-HT2A, BDNF, 5-HTTLPR, DRD4, Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Eating Disorder, obsessive compulsive personality

Conference: ACNS-2012 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Conference, Brisbane, Australia, 29 Nov - 2 Dec, 2012.

Presentation Type: Poster Presentation

Topic: Emotion and Social

Citation: Krug I, Kanakam N, Anderluh M, Fernandez-Aranda F, Micali N, Taborelli E, Tchanturia K, Karwautz A, Wagner G, Collier D and Treasure J (2012). Dissecting childhood and adulthood obsessive-compulsive personality traits in eating disorders using a discordant sister-pair design: a multicenter European study. Conference Abstract: ACNS-2012 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Conference. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2012.208.00060

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Received: 25 Oct 2012; Published Online: 07 Nov 2012.

* Correspondence: Dr. Isabel Krug, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, isabel.krug@unimelb.edu.au