ORIGINAL ARTICLES   

The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 1998 June;38(2):142-8

Copyright © 1998 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Alcohol use and behaviors in women long-distance race participants reporting a history of bulimia and/or anorexia nervosa

Gutgesell M. E. ¹, Timmerman M. G. ²

¹ Department of Pediatrics, Human Services (Exercise Physiology) and Institute for Substance Abuse Studies, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA; ² Dean Medical Center, Madison, WI

Objective. To ­describe the rela­tion­ship ­between a report­ed his­to­ry of an eat­ing dis­or­der, a his­to­ry of prob­lem alco­hol behav­ior and cur­rent alco­hol con­sump­tion in wom­en ­long-dis­tance run­ners.
Design. Survey.
Setting. General com­mu­nity.
Participants. Women par­tic­i­pat­ing in a 20-­mile ­road ­race (n=398) and age-­matched non-exer­cis­ing wom­en ­enrolled in a fam­i­ly prac­tice ­health main­te­nance organ­iza­tion (n=121) (mean age, 37.1±9.4 ­years).
Intervention. Not appli­cable.
Measures. Responses to ques­tions relat­ing to 1) a ­past his­to­ry of an eat­ing dis­or­der; 2) ­weight; 3) run­ning and exer­cise hab­its; 4) drink­ing behav­iors ­using alco­hol­ism screen­ing ­tests; 5) quan­tity-fre­quen­cy ­data of the pre­vi­ous two ­week alco­hol con­sump­tion.
Results. Ten per­cent of rac­ers and 4.1% of con­trols report­ed a his­to­ry of an eat­ing dis­or­der. Those rac­ers report­ing a his­to­ry of buli­mia ner­vo­sa with­out ano­rex­ia ­were ­more like­ly to ­report feel­ing ­guilty ­about ­their drink­ing, ­drunk-driv­ing ­arrests, an ele­vat­ed ­score on an alco­hol­ism screen­ing ­test (sug­ges­tive of prob­lem drink­ing), alco­hol­ism, and seek­ing ­help for prob­lem drink­ing ­than oth­er rac­ers or the con­trol pop­u­la­tion with­out a his­to­ry of an eat­ing dis­or­der. However, bulim­ic rac­ers did not ­report ­either ­increased cur­rent alco­hol con­sump­tion or occa­sions of drink­ing, includ­ing ­binge drink­ing (­five or ­more ­drinks in one epi­sode).
Conclusions. Women rac­ers report­ing a his­to­ry of buli­mia ner­vo­sa are ­more like­ly to ­report a his­to­ry of prob­lem behav­iors ­with alco­hol but no dif­fer­enc­es in cur­rent alco­hol con­sump­tion ­from ­that report­ed by oth­er wom­en rac­ers or wom­en with­out a his­to­ry of an eat­ing dis­or­der ­from the con­trol pop­u­la­tion.