Table 5.

Studies about the effects of eating disorders on epigenome.

Author (year)	References	Aim of study	Type of study. Population	Epigenetic changes	Key results
Frieling et al. (2007)	(118)	To analize the global methylation pattern in women diagnosed with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa To study candidate genes which expression is altered by nutritional deficits associated to anorexia or bulimia	Cross-sectional case-control in women Controls: 30 AN: 22 BN: 24	There are differences in the methylation pattern between patients with anorexia and controls in whole blood samples SNCA gene promoter is hypermethylated in anorexia patiens	Global DNA hypomethylation in women with anorexia nervosa DNA hypermethylation of the alpha synuclein promoter No differences in the global methylation status of women with bulimia
Frieling et al. (2010)	(119)	To study candidate genes which expression or methylation pattern are altered in women with anorexia or bulimia compared to control population	Cross-sectional case-control in women Controls: 30 AN: 22 BN: 24	SLC6A3/DAT, DRD2, and DRD4 genes were analized in whole blood samples of anorexia and bulimia patients No methylation differences were observed for DRD4	SLC6A3/DAT and DRD2 are hypermethylated in patients with AN In women with BN SLC6A3/DAT is also hypermethylated
Ehrlich et al. (2012)	(120)	To study candidate genes which expression or methylation pattern are altered in women with anorexia compared to control population	Cross-sectional case-control in women Controls: 54 AN: 40	POMC gene was analized in whole blood samples of anorexia patients	No methylation differences were observed
Steiger et al. (2013)	(121)	To study candidate genes which expression or methylation pattern are altered in women with bulimia compared to control population	Cross-sectional case-control in women Controls: 32 BN: 64	GR gen was analized in whole blood samples of bulimia patients	No methylation differences were observed
Tremolizzo et al. (2014)	(122)	To analize the global methylation pattern in women diagnosed with anorexia nervosa	cross-sectional case-control in women Controls: 13 AN: 32	There are differences in the methylation pattern between patients with anorexia and controls in whole blood samples	Global DNA hypomethylation in women with anorexia nervosa
Hoyo et al. (2011)	(123)	Effects of folic acid supplementation using Pyrosequencing to measure methylation at two IGF2 DMRs	Prospective study in umbilical cord blood leukocytes, measuring folic acid intake before and during pregnancy in 438 pregnant women	Methylation at the H19 DMR decreased in infants born to women reporting folic acid intake compared to infants born to women with no folid acid intake during pregnancy	The use of folic acid during pregnancy is associated with hypomethylation in the DNA sequence of IGF2 DMR, a decrease that may differ by sex and race/ethnicity