Female hormones in womb may play part in anorexia

As expected, the risk of anorexia in female twins was higher than in male twins. But in the opposite-sex twins, 16 anorexia cases, almost half, were in males. In other words, the male member of a male-female twin pair had a risk for anorexia statistically no different from the risk among females.

Studies have shown that shared family environment has little effect on the development of anorexia. Instead, the researchers theorise, the shared intrauterine environment of male-female twin pairs leads to the increased risk for the males. Female sex hormones may influence neurodevelopment and later risk for anorexia.

“Anorexia is a dangerous illness,” said Dr Marco Procopio, lead author and a research fellow at the University of Sussex in Brighton, England. “It’s important that we be aware of the early signs of the disease.”