Affiliation:
1. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Adolescent Medicine Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine Altindag Ankara Turkey
2. Ascension Seton Shoal Creek Hospital, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin Austin Texas USA
3. Department of Psychiatry University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville Greenville South Carolina USA
Abstract
AbstractAimThe aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of undetected eating disorders (EDs) among adolescent psychiatric inpatients and to investigate the association between clinical, psychiatric, and sociocultural factors and EDs.MethodsBetween January and December 2018, patients aged 12–18 years, hospitalized for inpatient‐level treatment were given the self‐assessment questionnaires of the Eating Attitudes Test‐26 (EAT‐26), the Contour Drawing Figure Rating Scale (CDFRS), the Child Behaviour Check List, and Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire‐4 after their routine unstructured clinical diagnostic assessment on admission by a psychiatrist. Patients were reassessed after reviewing the psychometric assessment results.ResultsThe prevalence of EDs among 117 psychiatric inpatients was 9.4%, all were female and all diagnosed with unspecified feeding and eating disorder. We showed that 63.6% of patients with EDs was diagnosed after the screening and not with the routine clinical interview. EAT‐26 scores were weakly correlated with affective (r = 0.314, p = .001), anxious (r = 0.231, p = .012), somatic (r = 0.258, p = .005), and impulsive maladaptive behaviours (r = 0.272, p = .003). A formal ED diagnosis was positively associated with media pressure, (OR:1.660, 95% CI: 1.105–2.495) and oppositional defiance (OR: 1.391, 95% CI: 1.005–1.926), and negatively with conduct problems (OR: 0.695, 95% CI: 0.500–0.964). The CDFRS results were not different between the ED and non‐ED groups.ConclusionsOur study suggests EDs remain a prevalent yet often overlooked diagnosis in adolescent psychiatric inpatients. Health care providers should screen for EDs in inpatient psychiatric settings as a part of routine assessment to improve the identification of disordered eating behaviours that often begin during adolescence.
Subject
Biological Psychiatry,Psychiatry and Mental health,Pshychiatric Mental Health