Articles
Register for Eating Disorders
Enza Gucciardi1, Nalan Celasun2, Farah Ahmad3 and Donna E Stewart4
1University Health Network Women's Health Program, University
of Toronto, 657 University Avenue, Toronto, Canada
2University Health Network Women's Health Program, University of Toronto, 657
University Avenue, Toronto, Canada
3University Health Network Women's Health Program, University of Toronto, 657
University Avenue, Toronto, Canada
4University Health Network Women's Health Program, University of Toronto, 657
University Avenue, Toronto, Canada
BMC Women's Health
Vol 4
Open access -
BioMedCentral
Published 25 August 2004
Abstract
Health Issue
Eating disorders are an increasing public health problem among young women.
Anorexia and bulimia may give rise to serious physical conditions such as
hypothermia, hypotension, electrolyte imbalance, endocrine disorders, and kidney
failure.
Key Issues
Eating disorders are primarily a problem among women. In Ontario in 1995, over
90% of reported hospitalized cases of anorexia and bulimia were women. In
addition to eating disorders, preoccupation with weight, body image and
self-concept disturbances, are more prevalent among women than men.
Women with eating disorders are also at risk for long-term psychological and
social problems, including depression, anxiety, substance abuse and suicide. For
instance, in 2000, the prevalence of depression among women who were
hospitalized with a diagnosis of anorexia (11.5%) or bulimia (15.4 %) was more
than twice the rate of depression (5.7 %) among the general population of
Canadian women. The highest incidence of depression was found in women aged 25
to 39 years for both anorexia and bulimia.
Data Gaps and Recommendations
Hospitalization data are the most recent and accessible information available.
However, this data captures only the more severe cases. It does not include the
individuals with eating disorders who may visit clinics or family doctors, or
use hospital outpatient services or no services at all. Currently, there is no
process for collecting this information systematically across Canada;
consequently, the number of cases obtained from hospitalization data is
underestimated. Other limitations noted during the literature review include the
overuse of clinical samples, lack of longitudinal data, appropriate comparison
groups, large samples, and ethnic group analysis.
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BMC Women's Health 2004, 4(Suppl 1):S21 doi:10.1186/1472-6874-4-S1-S21
