Anorexia link with pregnancy delay

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Women with a history of anorexia or bulimia may take longer to get pregnant, according to new research.

A study of more than 11,000 women in the UK found 39.5 per cent of those with a history of anorexia and bulimia took longer than six months to conceive, compared with 25 per cent of women in the general population.

They were also more than twice as likely as women without a history of either disorder to need treatment to help them conceive (6.2 per cent versus 2.7 per cent).

The study, published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, was carried out by experts at King's College London and University College London.