Brain Structure and function of children at risk for eating disorders
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Neurocognitive function, brain structure and function of children at familial high-risk of developing eating disorders
IRAS ID
194268
Contact name
Nadia Micali
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
ICH (UCL)
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses that include anorexia and bulimia nervosa. Although these disorders are different in presentation, they have important effects of one’s physical and mental health They affect over 1.6 million men and women of all ages and backgrounds in the UK only, and over 70 million people worldwide. More people will die from an eating disorder (12%) than from any other psychiatric disorder.
Eating disorders are complex and we still do not understand well how someone develops an eating disorder. We know there are some genetic and biological bases to these disorders. Past studies have already shown that people with eating disorders show differences in the way they think and how their brain looks compared with people who do not have an eating disorder, even after recovery. However, we do not know if this is the reason why the develop an eating disorder, or if the eating disorder, because of its negative physical effects causes changes in someone’s brain and the way they think. One way of understanding this is by studying children ‘at risk’, that is children who have a parent with a mental health disorder. Researchers worldwide have used this methodology in other psychiatric disorders.
We want to study children who are at risk because one of their parents has had an eating disorder in the past. We want to study the way they think and investigate their brain function using MRI and compare them to other children their age who are not at risk. This will tell us is we can identify ways of thinking that might be risk factors for eating disorders This research will provide important knowledge regarding vulnerabilities for eating disorders and in this way will contribute to earlier identification as well as having the potential to help prevention and the development of early intervention programs.
REC name
London - Stanmore Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/LO/2033
Date of REC Opinion
14 Dec 2015
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion