Objective: Recent consensus on the subclassification of the eating disorder bulimia nervosa into purging and nonpurging forms is examined in the context of a large psychiatric epidemiological survey in Ontario, Canada.
Method: Among a sample of 8,116 individuals, 62 met criteria for bulimia nervosa. Of these, the 17 who were of the purging subtype could be distinguished from the nonpurging group on a variety of parameters of comorbidity, family history, and childhood environment.
Results: The purging subtype was distinguishable on the basis of early age of onset, and high rates of affective disorders and anxiety and alcoholism, sexual abuse, and parental discord.
Discussion: The data support the taxonomy and point to the need for better understanding of the meaning of purging behavior.