ABSTRACT
The relation between eating disorders and substance-related* disorders is somewhat unique in psychiatry in that a complete explication of the relation requires exploration of three distinct domains. First, an explication of the prevalence of substance-related disorders in women with eating disorders necessitates information gleaned from epidemiological and genetic epidemiological designs. The latter approach also gives insight into the etiological relation between these disorders. Although critical for understanding etiology, these data do not necessarily reflect the clinician’s concerns regarding the frequency with which eating disorders and substance abuse
* Both the eating disorders and substance use disorders literature have been plagued by frequent changes in terminology and diagnostic labels for the disorders under focus. In this chapter we have used the DSM-IV (1) terms bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, eating disorders, and substancerelated disorders when speaking generally and attempted to utilize the terms and diagnostic labels used by the original authors when discussing specific studies.
