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Updated: Aug 8, 2026

Using the Activity-based Anorexia Rodent Model to Study the Neurobiological Basis of Anorexia Nervosa
Published on: October 22, 2015
Season of birth and bulimia nervosa
1Department of Psychiatry, St. George's Hospital Medical School, London, United Kingdom.
Objective:
Previous studies suggest season of birth variation in eating disorders akin to those of psychoses. We studied season of birth variation in bulimia nervosa.
Method:
Season of birth variation in 935 patients was examined after adjustment for population trends. Variation was also examined for subgroups by age and previous anorexia nervosa.
Results:
Season of birth did not differ significantly from population norms among bulimics (p >.30), contrasting with studies of other eating disorders. With a history of anorexia nervosa (n = 227), peak season of birth was in March (p <.05). This is consistent with previous studies and also with seasonal birth variation for psychoses.
Discussion:
Overall, we find no evidence of season of birth variation in bulimia nervosa, and suggest any positive findings be treated with caution. We discuss a number of confounding influences and argue that one explanation remains shared trait vulnerability between anorexia nervosa and psychoses.
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