Research highlights eating disorder signs
Swansea university researchers have highlighted early warning signs that might signal someone is heading for an eating disorder.
In a large-scale study of more than 15,000 sufferers of various eating conditions, the researchers highlighted four “red flags” that patients had in common.
The research team from Swansea University Medical School examined GP and hospital admission records of 15,558 people between 1990 and 2017.
They found that, in the two years before their diagnosis, they had:
■ Higher levels of other mental disorders such as personality disorders and depression;
■ More accidents, injuries and self harm;
■ A higher rate of prescriptions for drugs such as antipsychotics and antidepressants; and
■ An increased rate of prescriptions for drugs for such conditions as constipation and stomach upsets.
They hope the new research will help GPs identify eating disorders early. Disorders such as anorexia and bulimia affect an estimated 1.6 million people in the UK.
Such conditions, which are mostly diagnosed in early adulthood, have the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses.
The findings come months after anorexia sufferer Hope Virgo bravely spoke out after her heart nearly stopped as she hid her condition from her family. South Wales-based Hope, who developed anorexia when she was 13, is now an author and mental health campaigner.
In February she said: “I had struggled with feelings of guilt and sadness for so long but from the day I met anorexia I discovered this amazing sense of relief.”
“It gave me a sense of purpose I hadn’t had from anything else. It helped
me switch off from the real world, the world I struggled to be part of.
“Little did I know the extent of the damage I was doing to my body and soon I was unable to cope.
“I hid it from my friends and family for four years until I was 17 when my heart nearly stopped. I was admitted to a mental health hospital where I spent a year recovering.
“I had to learn to eat again, learn about exercising in a healthy way, and learn to talk about how I felt..”
Dr Jacinta Tan, who led the latest research, is associate professor of psychiatry at Swansea University and the Welsh representative of the Eating Disorder Faculty in the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Dr Tan said: “I cannot emphasise enough the importance of detection and early intervention for eating disorders.
“Delays in receiving diagnosis and treatment are sadly common and also associated with poorer outcomes and great suffering.
“This research contributes to the evidence about prevalence of eating disorders and begins to quantify the scale of the problem in the entire country of Wales.
“The majority of these patients we identified are not known to specialist eating disorder services.”
Professor Keith Lloyd, chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Wales, said: “Eating disorders can have a devastating impact on individuals and their families so this study is very timely.”