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Anorexia Nervosa: A Study of 34 Twin Pairs and One Set of Triplets

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

A. J. Holland ,
A. Hall ,
R. Murray ,
G. F. M. Russell  and
A. H. Crisp
A. J. Holland*
Affiliation:
Genetics Unit, Institute of Psychiatry and the Bethlem Royal and Maudsley Hospital, London SE5
A. Hall
Affiliation:
Dept of Psychiatry, St George's Hospital Medical School, London
R. Murray
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry
G. F. M. Russell
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, The Bethlem Royal and the Maudsley Hospital
A. H. Crisp
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital Medical School
*
∗Correspondence.
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Summary

In a collaborative study between St George's and the Maudsley Hospitals, 34 pairs of twins and one set of triplets were identified in which the proband had anorexia nervosa. The diagnosis was based on standard criteria and zygosity was established by blood group analysis or by use of the physical resemblance questionnaire. In the 30 female twin pairs, 9/16 of the monozygotic (MZ) and 1/14 of the dizygotic (DZ) pairs were concordant for anorexia nervosa. Three of the non-anorexia co-twins had other psychiatric illnesses, and two had minor eating disorders. None of the male co-twins had anorexia nervosa.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 145 , Issue 4 , October 1984 , pp. 414 - 419
Copyright
Copyright © 1984 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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Footnotes

†

Present address: Consultant in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, The London Hospital.

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