Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-ws8qp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T01:39:50.664Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Ovarian hormones and binge eating: exploring associations in community samples

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 February 2008

K. L. Klump*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
P. K. Keel
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
K. M. Culbert
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
C. Edler
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
*
*Address for correspondence: K. L. Klump, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, 107B Psychology Building, East Lansing, MI 48824-1116, USA. (Email: klump@msu.edu)

Abstract

Background

Significant associations between changes in ovarian hormones and binge eating are present across the menstrual cycle in women with bulimia nervosa. However, no study has examined these relationships in a non-clinical sample, despite the need for these data for designing risk-factor studies.

Method

In study 1, we modified several continuous measures of binge eating and identified those that were most sensitive to menstrual-cycle fluctuations in a non-clinical sample of 10 women who completed measures for 35 days. In study 2, we explored associations between ovarian hormones and binge-eating scores in nine women who completed these same measures for 65 days and provided daily saliva samples for assays of estradiol and progesterone concentrations.

Results

In study 1, the Emotional Eating subscale of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire exhibited superior reliability and was most sensitive to predicted menstrual-cycle changes in binge eating (i.e. increased scores in the mid-luteal/premenstrual compared with follicular/ovulatory phases). In study 2, this scale showed predicted inverse associations with estradiol and positive associations with progesterone across the menstrual cycle that could not be accounted for by changes in negative affect.

Conclusion

Associations between ovarian hormones and binge eating are robust and present in clinical and non-clinical samples. Findings support the ability to examine the role of ovarian hormones as risk factors for binge eating in large-scale prospective studies and twin studies.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Asarian, L, Geary, N (2006). Modulation of appetite by gonadal steroid hormones. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society – Biological Science 361, 12511263.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barr, SI, Janelle, KC, Prior, JC (1995). Energy intakes are higher during the luteal phase of ovulatory menstrual cycles. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 61, 3943.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Culbert, KM, Breedlove, SM, Burt, SA, Klump, KL (in press). Prenatal hormone exposure and risk for eating disorders: a comparison of opposite- and same-sex twins. Archives of General Psychiatry.Google Scholar
Edler, C, Lipson, SF, Keel, PK (2007). Ovarian hormones and binge eating in bulimia nervosa. Psychological Medicine 37, 131141.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fairburn, CG, Beglin, SJ (1994). Assessment of eating disorders: interview or self-report questionnaire? International Journal of Eating Disorders 16, 363370.3.0.CO;2-#>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garner, DM, Olmsted, MP, Polivy, J (1983). Development and validation of a multidimensional eating disorder inventory for anorexia nervosa and bulimia. International Journal of Eating Disorders 2, 1534.3.0.CO;2-6>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gladis, MM, Walsh, BT (1987). Premenstrual exacerbation of binge eating in bulimia. American Journal of Psychiatry 144, 15921595.Google ScholarPubMed
Jasienska, G, Ziomkiewicz, A, Ellison, PT, Lipson, SF, Thune, I (2004). Large breasts and narrow waist indicate high reproductive potential in women. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B 271, 12131217.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kassam, A, Overstreet, JW, Snow-Harter, C, De Souza, MJ, Gold, EB, Lasley, BL (1996). Identification of anovulation and transient luteal function using a urinary pregnanediol-3-glucuronide ration algorithm. Environmental Health Perspectives 104, 408413.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kenny, DA, Kashy, DA, Cook, WL (2006). Dyadic Data Analysis. The Guilford Press: New York.Google Scholar
Klump, KL, Burt, SA (2006). The Michigan State University Twin Registry (MSUTR): genetic, environmental and neurobiological influences on behavior across development. Twin Research and Human Genetics 9, 971977.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Klump, KL, Burt, SA, McGue, M, Iacono, WG (2007 a). Changes in genetic and environmental influences on disordered eating across adolescence: a longitudinal twin study. Archives of General Psychiatry 64, 14091415.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Klump, KL, Burt, SA, Sisk, C, Keel, PK (2007 b). Estrogen moderates genetic effects on disordered eating during puberty. Paper presented at the Eating Disorder Research Society Meeting. Pittsburgh, PA.Google Scholar
Klump, KL, Culbert, KM (2007). Molecular genetic studies of eating disorders: current status and future directions. Current Directions in Psychological Science 16, 3741.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Klump, KL, McGue, M, Iacono, WG (2003). Differential heritability of eating attitudes and behaviors in prepubertal versus pubertal twins. International Journal of Eating Disorders 33, 287292.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Klump, KL, Perkins, P, Burt, SA, McGue, M, Iacono, WG (2007 c). Puberty moderates genetic influences on disordered eating. Psychological Medicine 37, 627634.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lester, NA, Keel, PK, Lipson, SF (2003). Symptom fluctuation in bulimia nervosa: relation to menstrual-cycle phase and cortisol levels. Psychological Medicine 33, 5160.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Loucks, AB, Heath, EM (1994). Dietary restriction reduces luteinizing hormone (LH) pulse frequency during waking hours and increases LH pulse amplitude during sleep in young menstruating women. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 78, 910915.Google ScholarPubMed
Ostlund, H, Keller, E, Hurd, YL (2003). Estrogen receptor gene expression in relation to neuropsychiatric disorders. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1007, 5463.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pirke, KM, Schweiger, U, Lemmel, W, Krieg, JC, Berger, M (1985). The influence of dieting on the menstrual cycle of healthy young women. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 60, 11741179.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Price, WA, Torem, MS, DiMarzio, LR (1987). Premenstrual exacerbation of bulimia. Psychosomatics 28, 378379.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roberts, S, Kenney, NJ, Mook, DG (1972). Overeating induced by progesterone in the ovariectomized, adrenalectomized rat. Hormones and Behavior 3, 267276.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosenthal, R, Rosnow, RL (1991). Essentials of Behavioral Research: Methods and Data Analysis, 2nd edn.McGraw-Hill: New York.Google Scholar
Shirtcliff, EA, Granger, DA, Schwartz, EB, Curran, MJ, Booth, A, Overman, WH (2000). Assessing estradiol in biobehavioral studies using saliva and blood spots: simple radioimmunoassay protocols, reliability, and comparative validity. Hormones and Behavior 38, 137147.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stunkard, AJ, Messick, S (1985). The three-factor eating questionnaire to measure dietary restraint, disinhibition, and hunger. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 29, 671680.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van Strien, T, Frijters, JE, Bergers, GP, Defares, PB (1986). The Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) for assessment of restrained, emotional, and external eating behavior. International Journal of Eating Disorders 5, 295315.3.0.CO;2-T>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Varma, M, Chai, JK, Meguid, MM, Laviano, A, Gleason, JR, Yang, ZJ, Blaha, V (1999). Effect of estradiol and progesterone on daily rhythm in food intake and feeding patterns in Fischer rats. Physiology and Behavior 68, 99107.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wade, GN (1975). Some effects of ovarian hormones on food intake and body weight in female rats. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology 88, 183193.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Waller, K, Swan, SH, Windham, GC, Fenster, L, Elkin, EP, Lasley, BL (1998). Use of urine biomarkers to evaluate menstrual function in healthy premenopausal women. American Journal of Epidemiology 147, 10711080.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wardle, J (1987). Eating style: a validation study of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire in normal subjects and women with eating disorders. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 31, 161169.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watson, D, Clark, LA, Tellegen, A (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 54, 10631070.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed