COVID pandemic contributes to the proliferation of eating disorders

Many hospital beds are full. The waiting list for outpatient treatment is expanding. Also, teens and adults seeking help with eating disorders often take months to make an appointment.

The pandemic created a dangerous condition for eating disorders, leading to a surge in new cases and recurrences that were relaxed and unabated. COVID-19 (New Coronavirus Infection) Cases subside in many places, doctors and other experts say.

Jennifer Wildes, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Chicago School of Medicine and head of an outpatient eating disorder program, said: Some patients wait 4-5 months for treatment such as psychotherapy and sometimes medication. According to Wilds, the wait usually lasted only a few weeks before the pandemic.

Her program treats about 100 patients, almost doubling from before the pandemic, she said.

The Emily Program, an eating disorder treatment program attached to the University of Minnesota, has experienced the same.

The program’s chief strategy officer, nutritionist Gillian Lampert, said daily calls from people seeking treatment doubled from about 60 in 2019 to up to 130 since the pandemic began.

“We know that anxiety and isolation are usually very important factors in eating disorders,” she said.

Some patients said they “feel out of control in my life” because of the pandemic, and they rely on bulimia as a coping mechanism, Rampart said. Others take the message “Don’t cause a pandemic 15” to the extreme and limit their diet to points of loss of appetite.

The program offers inpatient and outpatient programs in some states that switched to remote treatment when the pandemic began. Some face-to-face treatments have resumed, but they continue.

“We’ve seen an overall increase,” she said, with patients of all races, adults, teens, and sometimes even young children. This includes LGBTQ people who tend to have a higher incidence of eating disorders than other groups. Women and girls are more generally affected than men.

18-year-old Peyton Crest, from Minnetonka, Minnesota, said he developed anorexia before the pandemic, but has recurred twice since the onset.

She was already under anxiety and pressure when the school went online and social distance began last year.

“It was my third year, I was trying to apply to college,” she said. Suddenly deprived of friends, classmates and her support system, she spent the whole day alone in her room, engrossed in thinking about food and anorexia nervosa behavior.

At the recommendation of her parents, she received local treatment in June, but relapsed in September and spent almost two months at a residential treatment center in Arizona.

Her school has recently returned to face-to-face classes and has been accepted by Rhodes College in Memphis, and Crest says she’s doing much better.

“My mental health has improved a lot,” she said.

Wilds said her program wasn’t slowing down.

“People aren’t really back in their routine,” she said, predicting that the patient surge wouldn’t subside until fall.

The Eating Disorder Awareness Alliance, which launched a virtual therapist-led support group for adults during a pandemic, is also on the rise. Alliance CEO Joanna Kandel said more than 7,000 people from all states and 32 countries have joined the support group since January.

“It’s like we’ve never seen it before,” she said.

Hospitalization is also increasing among teenage girls with serious complications of eating disorders, primarily loss of appetite.

Eating disorders affect at least 9% of people around the world. According to data quoted by the National Association for Anorexia Nervosa and Related Disorders, they affect about 30 million Americans in their lifetime and cause about 10,000 American deaths each year.

Anorexia nervosa, one of the more common eating disorders, is usually accompanied by restricted eating habits and extreme leanness. It can cause abnormal hypotension and organ damage.

Another eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, includes self-induced vomiting after eating large amounts of food. Symptoms include frequent use of laxatives and going to the bathroom immediately after eating.

According to the association, there is evidence that doctors ask colored races less often about eating disorders, but people of all races and ethnicities can be affected.

Analysis of electronic medical record data from approximately 80 hospitals in the United States shows an increase of 30% since March 2020 compared to data for the past two years. By February, the number of hospitalizations for girls aged 12 to 18 was 1,718, but did not increase among boys.

This analysis was published in the Epic Health Research Network journal in April.

“The COVID pandemic poses a very serious psychological challenge to society, especially adolescents. This is a major event that has disrupted the lives of many in many ways, with all the real consequences. It can take months or years, “said Dr. Dave Little, a family doctor and epic researcher. analysis.

He said the data should warn parents and healthcare providers.

“Talk to your child and talk to your patient. Make sure your eating behavior stays healthy and get early signs that you may have problems … better to react faster,” Little said. Said.

The Associated Press Health Sciences Department From the Faculty of Science Education at Howard Hughes Medical Institute. AP is solely responsible for all content.