BULIMIA-NERVOSA AND SUBSTANCE DEPENDENCE - ASSOCIATION AND FAMILY TRANSMISSION

Alcohol and drug use disorders are common among women with bulimia ner vosa (SH) and their family members. However, it is not known whether t here is a familial relationship between BN and substance use disorders . We compared 47 women with BN and 44 noneating-disordered community c ontrol women, and their first-degree relatives (177 and 190, respectiv ely). BN probands were stratified by the presence (43%) or absence (57 %) of lifetime alcohol and/or drug dependence. The first-degree relati ves of substance-dependent BN probands had significantly higher lifeti me rates of alcohol/drug dependence (38%), compared with relatives of nonsubstance-dependent BN probands (10%) or relatives of community con trols (18%). These data suggest that BN and substance dependence are t ransmitted independently in families.