Demographic and clinical characteristics*
| Characteristic | Anorexia nervosa (n = 55) | Healthy controls (n = 55) | Statistics | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| t | p value | |||
| Demographic | ||||
| Age, yr | 16.15 ± 3.07 | 16.17 ± 3.07 | −0.37 | 0.97 |
| BMI-SDS | −3.21 ± 1.13 | 0.09 ± 1.04 | −15.91 | < 0.001 |
| BMI | 14.55 ±1.35 | 20.68 ± 2.37 | −16.44 | < 0.001 |
| Clinical | ||||
| Age at onset, yr | 13.82 ± 2.63 | NA | ||
| EDI-2 total | 202.27 ± 47.28 | 142.85 ± 26.82 | −7.99 | < 0.001 |
| BDI-II | 21.49 ± 10.92 | 5.78 ± 6.27 | 9.24 | < 0.001 |
| Anxiety (SCL-90-R) | 0.81 ± 0.80 | 0.31 ± 0.41 | 4.04 | < 0.001 |
| SLC6A4 DNA methylation | ||||
| Mean SLC6A4 methylation | 5.45 ± 1.51 | 5.48 ± 2.28 | −0.08 | 0.94 |
| DNA methylation at CpG 13 | 8.05 ± 2.14 | 8.50 ± 7.11 | −0.44 | 0.66 |
BDI-II = Beck Depression Inventory II; BMI = body mass index; BMI-SDS = body mass index standard deviation score; EDI-2 = Eating Disorder Inventory 2; NA = not applicable; SCL-90-R = Symptom Checklist 90 Revised.
↵* Data are mean ± standard deviation unless otherwise indicated.