Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB #7160, 101 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7160, USA.
School of Psychology, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia.
Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2018 Sep 17;20(11):101. doi: 10.1007/s11920-018-0970-3.
Our primary goal in this article is to review recent findings (from 2015 and on) concerning children of parents with eating disorders. This review addresses the question of whether the offspring of parents with past or present eating disorders have adverse outcomes. This update is timely and informative because recent research includes controlled studies and large cohort designs and earlier reviews relied on case report evidence.
Despite substantial diversity in study design, sample size, and parental eating disorder definition, overall, existing research suggests that the children of parents with eating disorders exhibit compromised development: a greater risk of perinatal complications; a tendency toward extremes of growth at birth; greater problems in feeding and eating behaviors and greater incidence of eating disorder symptoms; more psychological and socioemotional difficulties; and more negative qualities to parent-child interactions. Data on children's cognitive outcomes is thus far inconsistent. Given the relatively high incidence of eating disorder history in individuals of childbearing age, research into its potential effects on children is necessary. However, the methodological shortcomings and a limited evidence base caution in drawing conclusions. Nevertheless, mental health services should address the possible problems that these children face and offer tailored programs.
本文的主要目的是回顾最近（2015 年及以后）关于父母患有饮食障碍的儿童的研究发现。本综述探讨了父母过去或现在患有饮食障碍的子女是否会出现不良后果的问题。这一更新是及时且有益的，因为最近的研究包括对照研究和大样本队列设计，而早期的综述依赖于病例报告证据。
尽管研究设计、样本量和父母饮食障碍定义存在很大差异，但总的来说，现有研究表明，父母患有饮食障碍的儿童发育不良：围产期并发症的风险增加；出生时生长极端的趋势；喂养和饮食行为问题更多，饮食障碍症状的发生率更高；更多的心理和社会情感困难；以及亲子互动的负面品质更多。目前，关于儿童认知结果的数据尚不一致。鉴于育龄人群中饮食障碍病史的发生率相对较高，有必要研究其对儿童的潜在影响。然而，方法学上的缺陷和有限的证据基础使得得出结论时需要谨慎。尽管如此，精神卫生服务机构仍应关注这些儿童所面临的可能问题，并提供针对性的项目。
