involvement of oral contraceptive side effects and genes in body dissatisfaction and eating dysfunction
abstract
previous research has indicated that body dissatisfaction and eating dysfunction fluctuate with
hormone levels (lester, keel & lipson, 2003). however, the im pact of oral contraceptives
(ocs) on these phenomena has not yet been assessed. research has also indicated a genetic
component to eating disorders and body image, and certain genes have been implicated,
although none consistently (gorwood, kipman & foulon, 2003). this study examined the link
between oral contraceptive side effects and both body dissatisfaction and eating dysfunction,
and the link between various hormonal genes and these constructs. two-hundred-seventy-nine
female participants completed a screening questionnaire which contained questions on oc use
and three subscales of the eating disorder inventory-2. o f these participants, 127 women
provided a sample of dna to be analyzed. after controlling for bmi and lifetime history of
depression, number of oral contraceptive mood and physical side effects significantly predicted
both body dissatisfaction and eating dysfunction. furthermore, mood side effects were a
unique predictor of both criterion variables. examination of the ta repeat on the estrogen
receptor alpha gene revealed a trend such that participants homozygous for long alleles had
higher mean eating dysfunction when compared to those homozygous for short alleles. a
significant association was found between the estrogen receptor beta genotype and body mass
index (bmi). women with short/long heterozygous alleles on the ca repeat had a significantly
higher bmi when compared to those with homozygous short alleles. the number of repeats on
the serotonin transporter gene and the progesterone receptor gene were not related to eating
disorder symptoms. these findings provide additional support for a role of estrogen and the
estrogen receptor genes in eating disorders symptoms and bmi.
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