Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 9, 2026

Using the Activity-based Anorexia Rodent Model to Study the Neurobiological Basis of Anorexia Nervosa
Published on: October 22, 2015
Background factors in anorexia nervosa : A controlled study of 51 teenage cases including a population sample
Maria Råstam, Christopher Gillberg1
1Department of Pediatrics and Child Psychiatry, Child Neuropsychiatry Centre, Annedals Clinics, S-413 45, Göteborg, Sweden.
Abstract:
Fifty-one adolescents with anorexia nervosa and 51 sex-, age- and school-matched comparison cases were psychiatrically and physically examined. Twenty-four of the anorexia cases constituted the total population of anorexia nervosa cases born in 1970. The cases were examined at a mean age of 16 years. The mothers were interviewed in detail concerning hereditary and other family factors, child's early physical and temperamental development, and the family's overall social situation. Medical records pertaining to the pre-, peri- and neonatal periods were analysed blind to diagnosis. Thirty-five of the anorexia cases (69%) had a reasonably plausible background factor which could have contributed to the development of the eating disorder. Similar background factors were encountered in 2 (4%) of the comparison cases. The findings are discussed as they pertain to anorexia nervosa etiology.
Related Concept Videos
Anorexia Nervosa
Symptoms and Physical Effects
Individuals with anorexia nervosa commonly exhibit extreme...
Sample Proportion and Population Proportion
Bulimia Nervosa
Population Growth
What is Population Genetics?
Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast,...

