The British Journal of Psychiatry (2009) 194: 375-376. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.108.054692
© 2009 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
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SHORT REPORTS

Intrauterine testosterone exposure and risk for disordered eating

Jessica H. Baker, MS

Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Department of Psychiatry, Medical College of Virginia Commonwealth University, and Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA

Paul Lichtenstein, PhD

Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

Kenneth S. Kendler, MD

Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Department of Psychiatry, Medical College of Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA

Correspondence: Jessica H. Baker, Virginia Commonwealth University, Department of Psychology, Box 842018, Richmond, VA 23284, USA. Email: bakerjh{at}vcu.edu

Declaration of interest

None.

Funding

This research was supported by funds from the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research and the Swedish Research Council (P.L.).

Previous research has suggested that prenatal testosterone exposure masculinises disordered eating by comparing opposite- and same-gender twins. The objective of the current study is to replicate this finding using a sample of 439 identical and 213 fraternal females, 461 identical and 344 fraternal males, and 361 males and 371 females from opposite-gender twin pairs. Disordered eating was compared across twin types using the Eating Disorder Inventory–2. Inconsistent with previous findings, a main effect of co-twin gender was not found. Our results raise questions about the validity of prior evidence of the impact of prenatal testosterone exposure on patterns of disordered eating.