Very preterm birth, birth trauma, and the risk of anorexia nervosa among girls

The authors had access to the birth records of all girls born in Sweden from1973 to 1984. They also had access to the files of the 781 girls who had discharged from any hospital in Sweden with a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa between age 10 and 21. For each case, 5 controls were randomly selected, individually matched by year and hospital of birth. It appears from this study that a cephalhematoma (i,e, a marker of highly traumatic birth) and a vaginal instrumental delivery (i.e. forceps or vacuum) are risk factors, whereas a cesarean birth is not a risk factor. An increased risk of anorexia nervosa was also found among girls born before 32 weeks gestation.