Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Feb;25(1):21-32.
doi: 10.1007/s00737-021-01156-x. Epub 2021 Jun 27.

Disordered eating and eating disorders among women seeking fertility treatment: A systematic review

Leah M Hecht  1 , Ashley Hadwiger  2 , Shivali Patel  2 , Bryan R Hecht  3 , Amy Loree  4 , Brian K Ahmedani  4   2 , Lisa R Miller-Matero  4   2
Affiliations

Disordered eating and eating disorders among women seeking fertility treatment: A systematic review

Leah M Hecht et al. Arch Womens Ment Health. 2022 Feb.

Abstract

The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the prevalence of disordered eating and eating disorders among women seeking fertility treatment.Observational studies were searched in Ovid MEDLINE, Web of Science, Embase, and PsycInfo. Studies published prior to September 2020 when the search was conducted were considered. Inclusion criteria included (1) original and empirical research, (2) published in a peer-reviewed journal, and (3) reported on disordered eating among women seeking fertility treatment in the sample or reported on prevalence of eating disorders among women seeking fertility treatment in the sample. Independent screening of abstracts was conducted by two authors (LH and AH). Ten studies met the inclusion criteria. Sample size, study location, measures, and results for each study in this review were reported.Among women pursuing fertility treatment, rates of current eating disorders ranged from 0.5 to 16.7%, while past eating disorder prevalence rates ranged from 1.4 to 27.5%. Current anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa was reported by up to 2% and 10.3% of women, respectively, while history of anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa was reported by up to 8.5% and 3.3% of women, respectively. Binge eating disorder or other eating disorders were reported by up to 18.5% and 9.1% of women, respectively. Disordered eating pathology was endorsed by 1.6 to 48% of women seeking fertility treatment. Endorsement of pathological eating attitudes was generally higher among women seeking fertility treatment with current or past eating disorders as compared to community samples, with the exception of dietary restraint. Rates of current and past eating disorders are higher among women seeking fertility treatment than in the general population. Providers treating women with infertility should be cognizant of these prevalence rates and consider screening for eating pathology in their patients as this may contribute to their likelihood of successful conception and/or subsequent pregnancy outcomes.

Keywords: Disordered eating; Eating disorders; Eating pathology; Fertility treatment.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Allison S, Kalucy R, Gilchrist P, Jones W (1988) Weight preoccupation among infertile women. Int J Eat Disord 7(6):743–748
    1. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5®): American Psychiatric Pub
    1. Arnold C, Johnson H, Mahon C, Agius M (2019) The effects of eating disorders in pregnancy on mother and baby: a review. Psychiatr Danub 31(Suppl 3):615–618 - PubMed
    1. Baechle C, Castillo K, Straßburger K, Stahl-Pehe A, Meissner T, Holl RW et al (2014) Is disordered eating behavior more prevalent in adolescents with early-onset type 1 diabetes than in their representative peers? Int J Eat Disord 47(4):342–352 - PubMed
    1. Barbosa-Magalhaes I, Corcos M, Galey J, Perdigao-Cotta S, Papastathi C, de Crecy M, Nicolas I, Lamas C, Christin-Maître S, Pham-Scottez A (2021) Prevalence of lifetime eating disorders in infertile women seeking pregnancy with pulsatile gonadotropin-releasing hormone therapy. Eating and Weight Disorders-Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity 26(2):709–715

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources