Bulimia Increases Risk of Abortion, Miscarriage

It's estimated that as many as 8 million Americans have an eating disorder-with 7 million women and one million men affected. This ranges from problems such as anorexia, bulimia and lesser-identified health issues, such as binge eating.

A recent study shows that for women who are the primarily affected by binge eating disorders are less likely to have children than others in their age group. According to the study, this discrepancy is most apparent in anorexia sufferers. For instance, researchers found that the number of pregnancies was less than half of that of the control group.

Statistics also showed that the likelihood of having an abortion was more than double for bulimics than others in the same age group, and the likelihood of a miscarriage was more than triple for binge-eating disorder sufferers.

"Early recognition, effective care and sufficiently long follow-up periods for eating disorders are crucial in the prevention of reproductive health problems," researcher Milla Linna from the University of Helsinki, Hjelt Institute said, via a press release.

The study notes that eating disorders are particularly common in Western countries among girls and women. In fact, it's estimated that close to 5 or even 10 percent of women in developed countries suffer from eating disorders at some point in their lives.

Researchers from the University of Helsinki and the National Institute for health and Welfare conducted the 15-year register-based study that examined reproductive health of patients treated at eating disorder clinics in the Helsinki University Central Hospital from 1995 to 2010, along with a control group. Members of the control group were the same age and gender and from similar regions as the other participants. More than 11,000 women participated in the study, of which 2,257 were patients of the eating disorder clinic and 9,028 were control group members.

"This study does not provide an explanation for the reproductive health problems observed in women with eating disorders. Based on previous research, however, it seems likely that the problems can at least partially be attributed to the eating disorder. Both being underweight and obese are known to be associated with the increased risk of infertility and miscarriage. Eating disorders also often involve menstrual irregularities or the absence of menstruation, which may lead to neglecting contraception and ultimately to unwanted pregnancies," Linna said, via the release.

A follow-up study is currently underway, focusing on the course of the pregnancies and deliveries of women who have had eating disorders.

More information regarding the study can be found via the International Journal of Eating Disorders.