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Recorded presentation

S. Bryn Austin, ScD¹, Najat Ziyadeh, MPH, MS¹, Heather L. Corliss, MPH, PhD¹, Margaret Rosario, PhD², David Wypij³, and Alison E. Field, ScD¹. (1) Adolescent Medicine, Children's Hospital Boston, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115, 617-355-8194, Bryn.Austin@tch.harvard.edu, (2) Department of Psychology, The City University of New York - City College and Graduate Center, Convent Avenue and 138th Street, NAC Building 7-120, New York, NY 10031, (3) Department of Biostatistics, Harvard Shool of Public Health, 655 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115

Studies in adults have examined sexual orientation group differences in bulimic behaviors (vomiting/use of laxatives for weight control or binge eating), but little is known about patterns in adolescence. We examined sexual orientation group disparities in longitudinal trends in bulimic behaviors in the past year using data from 12,400 females and males ages 12 to 23 years in the ongoing, prospective Growing Up Today Study. We used generalized estimating equations for repeated measures analyses, with data from 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2003. The percent reporting any bulimic behaviors in the past year increased with age, and trends in these behaviors differed significantly across groups. Among girls at age 14, 3% of heterosexual compared to 5% of “mostly heterosexual” (MH) and 5% of gay/bisexual (GB) girls reported bulimic behaviors; by age 18, 10% of heterosexual compared to 16% of MH and 18% of GB girls reported these behaviors. Among boys at age 14, 1% of heterosexual compared to 3% of MH and 0% of GB boys reported bulimic behaviors; but by age 18, 2% of heterosexual compared to 4% of MH and 9% of GB boys reported these behaviors. All sexual minority groups were more likely than same-gender heterosexuals to report bulimic behaviors (MH Girls: OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.7, 2.5; MH Boys: OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.2, 3.8; GB Girls: OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.5, 3.0; GB Boys: OR 4.2, 95% CI 2.2, 7.8). Factors exacerbating sexual minority youth's vulnerability to adopting bulimic behaviors need further research.

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