Reconsidering the Association Between Infection-Related Health Care Use and Occurrence of Eating Disorders: Chicken or Egg?

To the Editor Breithaupt and colleagues¹ published epidemiological data from a population-based female Danish cohort and concluded that infections that require hospitalization and treatment with anti-infective agents in childhood are associated with an increased risk for an eating disorder. This risk was greatest in the first 3 months after hospitalization. Such epidemiological cohort studies may contribute important evidence to the identification of risk factors for mental disorders.