Eating Disorder Diagnoses in Children and Adolescents in Norway Before vs During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Surén, Pål; Skirbekk, Anne Benedicte; Torgersen, Leila; Bang, Lasse; Godøy, Anna Aasen; Hart, Rannveig Kaldager

doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.22079

Cited by 25 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…However, they found the largest increase among girls aged 10-14 and 15-19. Increased use of primary-and specialist care for eating disorders during the pandemic have previously been documented among Norwegian children and adolescents (25). Our nding extends previous results, as we found an increase also among adults and during the second pandemic year (2021).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Incidence rates of treated mental disorders before and during the COVID-19 pandemic - a nationwide study comparing trends in the period 2015 to 2021

Jensen

Engdahl

Gustavson

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: There is a concern that exposure to psychosocial stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic may have led to a higher incidence of mental disorders. Thus, this study aimed to compare trends in incidence rates of depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and eating disorders in primary- and specialist health care before (2015-2019) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021). Methods: We used aggregated population registry data to calculate incidence rates of mental disorders from primary (The Norwegian Control and Payment of Health Reimbursement Registry (KUHR)) and specialist (The Norwegian Patient Registry (NPR)) health care. The analyses included all Norwegian residents aged 18-65 during the study period. Incident cases were defined as having no previous registration with the same mental disorder in KUHR (from 2006) or NPR (from 2008). We used linear prediction models and mean models to compare incidence rates and test trends before and during the pandemic. Results: During the pandemic, the incidence rates among women were higher or as predicted for OCD in specialist care and for eating disorders in both primary and specialist care. Incidence rates for depression and phobia/OCD among both genders in primary care and phobic anxiety disorders among both genders in specialist care were lower or as predicted. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic may have led to more women needing treatment for OCD and eating disorders in the Norwegian population. The decreased incidence rates for some disorders might indicate that some individuals either avoided seeking help or had improved mental health during the pandemic.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Incidence rates of treated mental disorders before and during the COVID-19 pandemic - a nationwide study comparing trends in the period 2015 to 2021

Jensen

Engdahl

Gustavson

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…OSFED rates, however, were markedly higher in the current study, with atypical AN accounting for most of OSFED diagnoses. Whether these results indicate a secular trend increase in the development of AN pathology in general, or represent a Covid-19 pandemic specific increase as reported in both Norway (Surén et al, 2022) and globally (Agostino et al, 2021;Asch et al, 2021;Taquet et al, 2022) is unclear. In a recent systematic literature review (Galmiche et al, 2019), data from more than a hundred prevalence studies were synthesized, showing that ED prevalence has more than doubled from 2000 to 2018.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Like numerous countries globally, Norway's public health care system observed a significant surge in EDs during the pandemic, the period when this study's data was gathered. A recently published study using Norwegian registry data (Surén et al, 2022) reports a 96%–127% increase in de novo ED diagnoses in girls (aged 13 to 16) in primary and specialist health care between 2019 and 2021. The prevalence of any ED in girls in the current sample (16.4%), driven by AN (2.7%), and OSFED‐AN (7.6%) diagnoses, thus concur with recent reports of increased incidence in sub‐and full threshold AN.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimated prevalence of DSM‐5 eating disorders in Norwegian adolescents: A community based two‐phase study

Dahlgren,

Reneflot,

Brunborg

et al. 2023

Intl J Eating Disorders

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ObjectiveLittle is known about the prevalence of DSM‐5 eating disorders (EDs) in adolescents. In Norway, the most recent community‐based prevalence study in adolescents was published more than 20 years ago. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of DSM‐5 EDs in Norwegian adolescents using a two‐phase design.MethodA total of 1558 upper secondary school students (827 girls and 730 boys) (ages 16–19) were screened for at‐risk ED pathology using the Eating Disorder Examination–Questionnaire short version (EDE‐QS). A sub‐sample of 99 adolescents (87 girls and 12 boys) subsequently participated in a clinical interview using the Eating Disorder Assessment for DSM‐5 (EDA‐5).ResultsEating pathology was common, with 19.9% of participants scoring at or above the applied EDE‐QS cut‐off. The estimated prevalence of any ED was 9.4% in the total sample, and 16.4% in girls. The number of boys who took part in the diagnostic interview was low, thus, diagnostic data from boys were not analyzed separately. Prevalence estimates of AN, BN, BED, and OSFED in girls were 2.7%, 1.1%, 1.9%, and 10.7%. Atypical AN was the most frequently assigned diagnosis in girls.DiscussionSampling biases limit generalizability of results. Additional population‐based studies are warranted to assess the prevalence of EDs in Norwegian youth.Public Significance StatementIn this study, 1558 adolescents, aged 16–19, were screened for ED pathology. A subsample completed a diagnostic interview using DSM‐5 criteria. Results showed that one in five adolescents displayed problematic eating behaviors and cognitions. The estimated prevalence rate of any ED was 9.4%. Sampling biases limit generalizability of results. Additional population‐based studies are warranted to assess the prevalence of EDs in Norwegian youth.

show abstract

“…Third, we demonstrated that boys were not exempt. Until now, boys were not studied owing to the lower number affected (Javaras et al., 2015; Matthews et al., 2021; Otto et al., 2021; Springall et al., 2022; Surén et al., 2022; Takakura et al., 2022). Fourth, we showed that advantaged groups were affected earlier in the pandemic, whereas disadvantaged groups followed later.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Eating disorder hospitalizations increased sharply among 10-14 year-old children during wave 1, before being followed by 15-19 year-old adolescents in wave 2. Temporal effects such as these have not previously been studied (Otto et al, 2021;Springall et al, 2022;Sur en et al, 2022). A study of electronic health records in the U.S. found that the incidence of eating disorders increased throughout 2020, but did not assess if the increase began earlier in 10-14 year-old children than in older adolescents (Taquet et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shifting age of child eating disorder hospitalizations during the Covid‐19 pandemic

Auger

Steiger

Luu

et al. 2023

Child Psychology Psychiatry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: We studied the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on child eating disorder hospitalizations in Quebec, Canada. Quebec had one of the strictest lockdown measures targeting young people in North America. Methods: We analyzed eating disorder hospitalizations in children aged 10-19 years before and during the pandemic. We used interrupted time series regression to assess trends in the monthly number of hospitalizations for anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and other eating disorders before the pandemic (April 2006 to February 2020), and during the first (March to August 2020) and second waves (September 2020 to March 2021). We determined the types of eating disorders requiring hospital treatment and identified the age, sex and socioeconomic subgroups that were most affected. Results: Hospitalization rates for eating disorders increased during the first (6.5 per 10,000) and second waves (12.8 per 10,000) compared with the period before the pandemic (5.8 per 10,000). The increase occurred for anorexia nervosa as well as other types of eating disorders. The number of girls and boys aged 10-14 years admitted for eating disorders increased during wave 1. Wave 2 triggered an increase in eating disorder admissions among girls aged 15-19 years. Hospitalization rates increased earlier for advantaged than disadvantaged youth. Conclusions: The Covid-19 pandemic affected hospitalizations for anorexia nervosa as well as other eating disorders, beginning with girls aged 10-14 years during wave 1, followed by girls aged 15-19 years during wave 2. Boys aged 10-14 years were also affected, as well as both advantaged and disadvantaged youth.

show abstract

Eating Disorder Diagnoses in Children and Adolescents in Norway Before vs During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract: This cohort study assesses trends in diagnoses of eating disorders among girls aged 6 to 16 years in Norway before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cited by 25 publications

References 6 publications

Incidence rates of treated mental disorders before and during the COVID-19 pandemic - a nationwide study comparing trends in the period 2015 to 2021

Incidence rates of treated mental disorders before and during the COVID-19 pandemic - a nationwide study comparing trends in the period 2015 to 2021

Estimated prevalence of DSM‐5 eating disorders in Norwegian adolescents: A community based two‐phase study

Shifting age of child eating disorder hospitalizations during the Covid‐19 pandemic

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About