Hostname: page-component-f554764f5-sl7kg Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-13T18:34:39.770Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Preliminary evidence that estradiol moderates genetic influences on disordered eating attitudes and behaviors during puberty

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2010

K. L. Klump ,
P. K. Keel ,
C. Sisk  and
S. A. Burt
K. L. Klump*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
P. K. Keel
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
C. Sisk
Affiliation:
Psychology and Neuroscience, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
S. A. Burt
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
*
*Address for correspondence: Dr K. L. Klump, Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, 107B Psychology Building, East Lansing, MI 48824–1116, USA (Email: [email protected])
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background

Puberty moderates genetic influences on disordered eating attitudes and behaviors, with little genetic influence before puberty but large (⩾50%) genetic effects during and after puberty. To date, however, nothing is known about the mechanisms that underlie these effects. Estradiol is a particularly promising candidate, as estrogens become elevated at puberty and regulate gene transcription within neurotransmitter systems important for eating-related phenotypes. The aim of this pilot study was to examine whether estradiol levels moderate genetic influences on disordered eating during puberty.

Method

Participants included 198 female twins (ages 10–15 years) from the Michigan State University Twin Registry. Disordered eating attitudes and behaviors were assessed with the total score, weight preoccupation, body dissatisfaction and binge eating/compensatory behavior subscales of the Minnesota Eating Behavior Survey (MEBS). Afternoon saliva samples were assayed for estradiol levels. Moderation of genetic effects was examined by comparing twin correlations in low versus high estradiol groups.

Results

In the low estradiol group, monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twin correlations for all MEBS scales were similar, suggesting little genetic influence. In the high estradiol group, the MZ twin correlation was more than double the DZ twin correlation, indicating the presence of genetic effects. Findings could not be accounted for by age, body mass index or the physical changes of puberty.

Conclusions

Estradiol may be one important moderator of genetic effects on disordered eating during puberty. Larger twin studies are needed to replicate this pilot work and quantify the extent of genetic moderation.

Keywords

Eating disordersestrogengenespuberty
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 40 , Issue 10 , October 2010 , pp. 1745 - 1753
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Ahmed, EI, Zehr, JL, Schulz, KM, Lorenz, BH, Doncarlos, LL, Sisk, CL (2008). Pubertal hormones modulate the addition of new cells to sexually dimorphic brain regions. Nature Neuroscience 11, 995–997.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Allison, DB, Heshka, S, Neale, MC, Lykken, DT, Heymsfield, SB (1994). A genetic analysis of relative weight among 4,020 twin pairs, with an emphasis on sex effects. Health Psychology 13, 362–365.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Angold, A, Costello, EJ, Erkanli, A, Worthman, CA (1999). Pubertal changes in hormone levels and depression in girls. Psychological Medicine 29, 1043–1053.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Asarian, L, Geary, N (2006). Modulation of appetite by gonadal steroid hormones. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society – Biological Science 361, 1251–1263.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bulik, CM (2002). Eating disorders in adolescents and young adults. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics 11, 201–218.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Culbert, KM, Breedlove, SM, Burt, SA, Klump, KL (2008). Prenatal hormone exposure and risk for eating disorders: a comparison of opposite- and same-sex twins. Archives of General Psychiatry 65, 329–336.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Culbert, KM, Burt, SA, McGue, M, Iacono, WG, Klump, KL (2009). Puberty and the genetic diathesis of disordered eating. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 118, 788–796.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Edler, C, Lipson, SF, Keel, PK (2007). Ovarian hormones and binge eating in bulimia nervosa. Psychological Medicine 37, 131–141.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, 15–34.3.0.CO;2-6>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grumbach, MM, Styne, DM (eds.) (1998). Puberty: Ontogeny, Neuroendocrinology, Physiology, and Disorders. W.B. Saunders Company: Philadelphia, PA.Google Scholar
Iacono, WG, Carlson, SR, Taylor, J, Elkins, IJ, McGue, M (1999). Behavioral disinhibition and the development of substance use disorders: findings from the Minnesota Twin Family Study. Development and Psychopathology 11, 869–900.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kaltiala-Heino, R, Marttunen, M, Rantanen, P, Rimpela, M (2003). Early puberty is associated with mental health problems in middle adolescence. Social Science and Medicine 57, 1055–1064.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
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, 971–977.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, 1409–1415.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Klump, KL, Burt, SA, McGue, M, Iacono, WG, Wade, TM (2009). Age differences in genetic and environmental influences on weight and shape concerns. International Journal of Eating Disorders. Published online: 30 November 2009. doi:10.1002/eat.20772.Google Scholar
Klump, KL, Culbert, KM, Edler, C, Keel, PK (2008). Ovarian hormones and binge eating: exploring associations in community samples. Psychological Medicine 38, 1749–1757.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Klump, KL, McGue, M, Iacono, WG (2000). Age differences in genetic and environmental influences on eating attitudes and behaviors in female adolescent twins. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 109, 239–251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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, 287–292.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Klump, KL, Perkins, P, Burt, SA, McGue, M, Iacono, WG (2007 b). Puberty moderates genetic influences on disordered eating. Psychological Medicine 37, 627–634.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lenroot, RK, Schmitt, JE, Ordaz, SJ, Wallace, GL, Neale, MC, Lerch, JP, Kendler, KS, Evans, AC, Giedd, JN (2009). Differences in genetic and environmental influences on the human cerebral cortex associated with development during childhood and adolescence. Human Brain Mapping 30, 163–174.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nunez, JL, Sodhi, J, Juraska, JM (2002). Ovarian hormones after postnatal day 20 reduce neuron number in the rat primary visual cortex. Journal of Neurobiology 52, 312–321.CrossRefGoogle 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, 54–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Peeters, H, Van Gestel, S, Vlietinck, R, Derom, C, Derom, R (1998). Validation of telephone zygosity questionnaire in twins of known zygosity. Behavior Genetics 28, 159–163.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Peper, JS, Brouwer, RM, Schnack, HG, van Baal, GC, van Leeuwen, M, van den Berg, SM, Delemarre-Van de Waal, HA, Boomsma, DI, Kahn, RS, Hulshoff Pol, HE (2009 a). Sex steroids and brain structure in pubertal boys and girls. Psychoneuroendocrinology 34, 332–342.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Peper, JS, Schnack, HG, Brouwer, RM, Van Baal, GC, Pjetri, E, Szekely, E, Van Leeuwen, M, Van den Berg, SM, Collins, DL, Evans, AC, Boomsma, DI, Kahn, RS, Hulshoff Pol, HE (2009 b). Heritability of regional and global brain structure at the onset of puberty: a magnetic resonance imaging study in 9-year-old twin pairs. Human Brain Mapping 30, 2184–2196.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Petersen, AC, Crockett, L, Richards, M, Boxer, A (1988). A self-report measure of pubertal status: reliability, validity, and initial norms. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 17, 117–133.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Plomin, R, DeFries, JC, McClearn, GE (1990). Behavioral Genetics: A Primer, 2nd edn. W. H. Freeman Company: New York.Google Scholar
Primus, RJ, Kellogg, CK (1991). Gonadal status and pubertal age influence the responsiveness of the benzodiazepine/GABA receptor complex to environmental challenge in male rats. Brain Research 561, 299–306.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Purcell, S (2002). Variance components models for gene-environment interaction in twin analysis. Twin Research 5, 554–571.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
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, 137–147.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sisk, CL, Zehr, JL (2005). Pubertal hormones organize the adolescent brain and behavior. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology 26, 163–174.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Slap, GB, Khalid, N, Paikoff, RL, Brooks-Gunn, J, Warren, MP (1994). Evolving self-image, pubertal manifestations, and pubertal hormones: preliminary findings in young adolescent girls. Journal of Adolescent Health 15, 327–335.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spear, LP (2000). The adolescent brain and age-related behavioral manifestations. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 24, 417–463.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
von Ranson, KM, Klump, KL, Iacono, WG, McGue, M (2005). Development and validation of Minnesota Eating Behaviors Survey: a brief measure of disordered eating attitudes and behaviors. Eating Behaviors 6, 373–392.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zehr, JL, Todd, BJ, Schulz, KM, McCarthy, MM, Sisk, CL (2006). Dendritic pruning of the medial amygdala during pubertal development of the male Syrian hamster. Journal of Neurobiology 66, 578–590.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed