Early origin of eating disorders

PhD defence by Andrea Joensen

Assessment Committee

Associate professor Terese Sara Høj Jørgensen, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen (Chairperson)
Professor Lau Caspar Thygesen, University of Southern Denmark
Professor Francesca Solmi, University College London

Supervisors

Professor Katrine Strandberg-Larsen
Professor Claus Thorn Ekstrøm
PhD, Head of Department, Chief Consultant Else Marie Olsen

Department

Department of Public Health

Graduate Programme

Public Health and Epidemiology

Place

Room: Aud. 1, Gothersgade 140, 1123 Copenhagen

Email address to gain access to the thesis: anjo@sund.ku.dk

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Short description of the thesis

Eating disorders are serious mental disorders that typically develop during adolescence and are associated with psychiatric and physical comorbidity and increased mortality. However, much of the evidence is based on clinically diagnosed eating disorders, although many individuals with clinically relevant symptoms never receive a diagnosis. The overall aim of this PhD thesis was to examine the broader burden of eating disorders among Danish adolescents and investigate mental health and early-life risk factors across levels of eating disorder severity. By combining nationwide register data with questionnaire data from the Danish National Birth Cohort, the thesis identified both clinically diagnosed eating disorders and self-reported eating disorder symptoms, contributing to a broader understanding of the occurrence and early origins of eating disorders.