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1. Sexual and gender minority ( SGM ) adolescents' disordered eating: Exploring general and SGM‐specific factors

   https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23727  

   Roberts, Savannah R. ; Maheux, Anne J. ; Watson, Ryan J. ; Puhl, Rebecca M. ; Choukas‐Bradley, Sophia ( May 2022 , International Journal of Eating Disorders)

   Sexual and gender minority (SGM) adolescents disproportionately report disordered eating, yet have primarily been considered under a larger SGM umbrella. The current study 1) compared disordered eating between sexual minority (SM) and gender minority (GM) adolescents; 2) examined how general psychological factors (self‐esteem, depression, and stress) and SGM‐specific factors (e.g., feelings about SGM identity, access to SGM resources) were associated with disordered eating; and 3) examined whether associations between these factors differed for SM versus GM adolescents.

   SGM adolescents in the U.S. (N = 8814; 35.0% GM; 43.7% cisgender girls; 66.9% White;M_age = 15.6) reported their disordered eating, depressive symptoms, stress, self‐esteem, and SGM‐related experiences on an anonymous, cross‐sectional online survey.

   GM adolescents exhibited a higher prevalence of clinical threshold disordered eating than SM adolescents. Self‐esteem was associated with lower odds of caloric restriction, purging, and binge eating. Depression was associated with higher odds of caloric restriction, diet pill use, purging, laxatives, and binge eating. Stress was associated with higher odds of purging. Associations were stronger for GM adolescents' caloric restriction. Positive feelings about SGM identity were associated with lower odds of caloric restriction, purging, and binge eating, whereas greater stress of “coming out” was associated with higher odds of caloric restriction, purging, and binge eating.

   These results suggest that SGM adolescents' disordered eating is associated with both general psychological factors and unique SGM experiences. Results highlight the importance of considering how the unique experiences of SGM youth may leave them vulnerable to disordered eating behaviors.

   Sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth are disproportionately affected by disordered eating. The current study found that higher depression and stress, and lower self‐esteem, were associated with SGM adolescents' disordered eating. Furthermore, unique SGM experiences, such as stress about coming out, were also associated with eating pathology. Results highlight the importance of considering SGM adolescents' perceptions of their identity and social support.

    

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2. Comparing eating disorder characteristics and treatment in self‐identified competitive athletes and non‐athletes from the National Eating Disorders Association online screening tool

   https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23415  

   Flatt, Rachael E. ; Thornton, Laura M. ; Fitzsimmons‐Craft, Ellen E. ; Balantekin, Katherine N. ; Smolar, Lauren ; Mysko, Claire ; Wilfley, Denise E. ; Taylor, C. Barr ; DeFreese, J. D. ; Bardone‐Cone, Anna M. ; et al ( November 2020 , International Journal of Eating Disorders)

   We compared eating disorder (ED) characteristics and treatment seeking behaviors between self‐identified competitive athletes and non‐athletes in a large, community‐based sample.

   During the 2018 National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, 23,920 respondents, 14.7% of whom identified as competitive athletes, completed the National Eating Disorders Association online screen. Data were collected on demographics, disordered eating behaviors, probable ED diagnosis/risk, treatment history, and intent to seek treatment.

   The sample was predominantly White (81.8%), female (90.3%), and between 13 and 24 years (82.6%). Over 86% met criteria for an ED/subthreshold ED, and of those, only 2.5% were in treatment. Suicidal ideation was reported in over half of the sample. Athletes reported a significantly greater likelihood of engaging in and more frequent excessive exercise episodes than non‐athletes. Athletes also reported a significantly lower likelihood of engaging in and less frequent binge‐eating episodes compared with non‐athletes. Athletes were more likely to screen positive for an ED/subthreshold ED than non‐athletes, but percentages across all probable ED diagnoses were similar. No significant differences between athletes and non‐athletes emerged on treatment history or intention to seek treatment post‐screen (less than 30%).

   Although the distribution of probable ED diagnoses was similar in athletes and non‐athletes, symptom profiles related to disordered eating behavior engagement and frequency may differ. Athletes may be less likely to seek treatment due to stigma, accessibility, and sport‐specific barriers. Future work should directly connect survey respondents to tailored treatment tools and increase motivation to seek treatment.

    

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3. The intersections of industrialization: Variation in skeletal indicators of frailty by age, sex, and socioeconomic status in 18th‐ and 19th‐century England

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23881  

   Yaussy, Samantha L. ( June 2019 , American Journal of Physical Anthropology)

   Intersectionality theory argues that various categories of identity and forms of systemic oppression interact and produce inequalities in resource access, economic opportunities, and health outcomes. However, there has been little explicit engagement with this theory by bioarchaeologists examining disparate health outcomes in the past. This study examines the associations among frailty, age at death, sex, and socioeconomic status (SES) in 18th‐ and 19th‐century England.

   The sample for this study comes from four industrial‐era cemeteries from England, ca. 1711–1857. The associations among adult age (18+ years), SES, sex, and three skeletal indicators of stress (dental enamel hypoplasia [DEH,n= 293], cribra orbitalia [CO,n= 457], periosteal lesions [PNB,n= 436]) are examined using hierarchical log‐linear analysis.

   Significant interactions existed among the variables examined for two skeletal indicators: high SES females had lower frequencies of CO relative to other groups and males between ages 30–45 years exhibited higher frequencies of PNB compared to females or males of older or younger ages, regardless of SES. Additionally, sex and SES were consistently associated with age at death.

   These results suggest that patterns of stress indicators cannot be examined solely across unilateral axes of age, SES, or sex. Intersecting axes of privilege, marginalization, and structural oppression may have buffered high SES females from some negative health outcomes (CO) while predisposing them to others (risk of maternal mortality). Likewise, the hazardous working conditions relegated to adult males may have heightened the risk of injury, infection, and death for middle‐aged men in industrial‐era England.

    

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4. A daily diary study of emotion regulation as a moderator of negative affect‐binge eating associations

   https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23768  

   Mikhail, Megan E. ; Fowler, Natasha ; Burt, S. Alexandra ; Neale, Michael C. ; Keel, Pamela K. ; Katzman, Debra K. ; Klump, Kelly L. ( July 2022 , International Journal of Eating Disorders)

   While negative affect (NA) typically increases risk for binge eating, the ultimate impact of NA may depend on a person's ability to regulate their emotions. In this daily, longitudinal study, we examined whether emotion regulation (ER) modified the strength of NA‐dysregulated eating associations.

   Women (N = 311) from the Michigan State University Twin Registry first reported dimensional binge eating symptoms and broad ER difficulties (e.g., limited emotional awareness, difficulty controlling emotional impulses). Participants then rated use of adaptive (cognitive reappraisal, social sharing, situation modification, and acceptance) and maladaptive (rumination, expressive suppression, and self‐criticism) ER strategies, emotional eating (EE), objective binge eating (OBE), and NA once daily for 49 consecutive days.

   There were several main effects of ER on binge‐eating pathology in both between‐person (i.e., comparing women who differed on average) and within‐person (i.e., examining fluctuations in variables day‐to‐day) analyses. Between‐person, greater broad ER difficulties, greater maladaptive strategy use, and lower adaptive strategy use were all associated with greater binge‐eating pathology. Within‐person, greater maladaptive strategy use was associated with greater odds of OBE on that day and on the following day. However, neither broad ER difficulties nor use of specific strategies moderated associations between NA and dysregulated eating in between‐ or within‐person analyses.

   While ER is independently associated with risk for dysregulated eating, it may not fully mitigate the impact of NA. Additional strategies (e.g., decreasing environmental stressors and increasing social support) may be needed to minimize NA and its impact on dysregulated eating.

   Negative affect (NA; e.g., sadness, guilt) increases dysregulated eating risk. Because NA is sometimes unavoidable, we examined whether emotion regulation (ER; i.e., how a person responds to their emotions) might impact whether NA leads to dysregulated eating. Although more effective ER was associated with less dysregulated eating overall, ER did not impact the association between NA and dysregulated eating. Other approaches may therefore be needed to mitigate NA‐dysregulated eating associations.

    

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5. Using craniofacial fluctuating asymmetry to examine the effects of sex, socioeconomic status, and early life experiences on adult age at death in industrial England

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24907  

   Yaussy, Samantha L. ( February 2024 , American Journal of Biological Anthropology)

   Historical evidence from 18th‐ and 19th‐century England suggests that industrialization's impacts on health were largely negative, especially among marginalized groups. However, available documentary evidence is often biased toward adult men and rarely sheds light on the experiences of other members of the population, such as women and children. Craniofacial fluctuating asymmetry (FA) can serve as a proxy measurement of developmental instability and stress during development. This study examines the associations among age, sex, socioeconomic status (SES), and FA in skeletal samples from industrial‐era England.

   The sample for this study comes from four industrial‐era cemeteries from England (A.D. 1711–1857). Geometric morphometric analyses of three‐dimensional landmark coordinate data were used to generate a measure of FA for each individual (Mahalanobis distance). A three‐way ANOVA was used to evaluate the impacts of sex, SES, and FA scores on adult age at death (n = 168).

   Significant associations existed between age at death and SES (p = 0.004) and FA scores (p = 0.094). Comparisons of the estimated means indicated that age at death was consistently higher among high SES individuals and individuals with FA scores less than one standard deviation from the mean.

   This study supports findings from previous studies that have suggested that the differences in resource access and environmental buffering generated by socioeconomic inequality can impact longevity and patterns of mortality among socioeconomic status groups. Likewise, stress in early life—evinced by craniofacial fluctuating asymmetry—can influence observed patterns of longevity in adults decades later.

    

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