Graduation Year

2026

Document Type

Open Access Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Biology

Reader 1

Elise Ferree

Reader 2

Jose Arreola

Abstract

For many autoimmune disease patients, psychiatric conditions are a common comorbidity. Although there are many shared mechanisms between autoimmune disease and psychiatric conditions, current research surrounding mental health among autoimmune disease patients often focuses on mood disorders rather than eating disorders. Despite the high risk for developing psychiatric conditions, most autoimmune disease patients are not screened for eating disorders. This lack of screening is significant, because if an eating disorder is missed by a healthcare provider, the autoimmune or eating disorder condition could be exacerbated, resulting in severe illness or even fatality. Given an existing link between comorbid psychiatric disorders, I hypothesize that a prior diagnosis of an autoimmune disease increases the risk of developing an eating disorder or disordered eating behaviors. Additionally, with the extra risk factors of gut dysbiosis and gut-brain axis disruption, I hypothesize that gastrointestinal autoimmune diseases such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and Celiac Disease further increase the risk of developing an eating disorder or disordered eating behaviors. This study conducts a meta-analysis of the risk for developing an eating disorder after an autoimmune disease diagnosis. It was found that autoimmune diseases are significantly associated with eating disorders, with Type 1 Diabetes and gastrointestinal autoimmune diseases showing particularly strong associations. These findings highlight the need for further research to understand the mechanisms of this association, and to develop targeted screening and intervention strategies for at-risk patients.

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