Eating Disorders and Their Associated Factors among Women Aged 18-50 Years: A Cross-sectional Study

Ahlam Badreldin. El Shikieri^1,

¹College of Applied Medical Sciences, Clinical Nutrition Department, Taibah University, Al Madinah Al Munawarah, Saudi Arabia

Cite this paper:
Ahlam Badreldin. El Shikieri. Eating Disorders and Their Associated Factors among Women Aged 18-50 Years: A Cross-sectional Study. Journal of Food and Nutrition Research. 2022; 10(5):332-340. doi: 10.12691/jfnr-10-5-1

Abstract

Background: Eating Disorders (EDs) are serious mental illnesses that can affect health and overall well-being. The present study aimed to determine (1) the prevalence and types of EDs among women aged 18-50 years, (2) the association between age, level of study, the university sector, and EDs. Methods: An epidemiological, cross-sectional facility-based study design was conducted. Women aged 18-50 years who were not previously diagnosed with ED and were employees or students at Taibah University, Saudi Arabia, were included. The EAT-26, DSM-V, and the Ortherxia Nervosa (ON) inventory determined the presence of EDs and their types. In addition, information about age, college or sector, and year of study (for students) were obtained. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS version 26. Results: Women (n = 1700) were screened. Women (n= 288, 17%) had disordered eating attitudes, and 213 of them completed the study. Of the 213 women with disordered eating, 14% suffered from bulimia nervosa (BN), 23.9% from eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS), and 28% from ON. Women aged ≥43 years suffered mostly from binge eating disorders. Most of the women with EDs were in their first year of study. The most common types of EDs among students were ON, EDNOS, BN, a combination of ON and atypical anorexia nervosa (AN). Moreover, atypical AN was prevalent among year four students, whereas night-eating disorders were common among year two and three students. Conclusion: Age, university sector, and year of study are associated with EDs among women. Nutrition education programs targeting young women, their parents, and those from specific colleges need to be initiated at Taibah University.

Keywords:
eating disorders women age Saudi Arabia university sector level of study

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References:

[1]	Qian J, Hu Q, Wan Y, Li T, Wu M, Ren Z, Yu D. Prevalence of eating disorders in the general population: a systematic review. Shanghai Arch psychiatry. 2013; 25: 212.
[2]	National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (UK). (2004). Eating Disorders: Core Interventions in the Treatment and Management of Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders. 1st ed. Leicester, British Psychological Society. PMID: 23346610.
[3]	National Guideline Alliance (UK). (2017). Eating Disorders: Recognition and Treatment. London: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (UK); 2017 May. (NICE Guideline, No. 69.) 9, Treatment and management of atypical eating disorders (eating disorders not otherwise specified) Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK533153/).
[4]	Udo, T., & Grilo, C.M., (2018). Prevalence and Correlates of DSM-5–Defined Eating Disorders in a Nationally Representative Sample of U.S. Adults, Biological Psychiatry, 84(5): 345-54.
[5]	Preti, A., Girolamo, Gd., Vilagut, G., Alonso, J., Graaf, Rd., Bruffaerts, R., Demyttenaere, K., Pinto-Meza, A., Haro, J.M., Morosini, P.; ESEMeD-WMH Investigators. (2009). The epidemiology of eating disorders in six European countries: results of the ESEMeD-WMH project. J Psychiatr Res. Sep; 43(14): 1125-32.
[6]	Prendergast, G., West, D.C., Yan, L.K., (2015). Eating Disorders–The Role of Advertising and Editorial. In: Spotts H. (eds) Proceedings of the 2002 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science. Springer, Cham.
[7]	Nivedita, N., Sreenivasa, G., Sathyanarayana R.T.S., Malini S.S., (2018). Eating disorders: Prevalence in the student population of Mysore, South India 60(4): 433-7.
[8]	Pengpid, S., & Peltzer, K., (2018). Risk of disordered eating attitudes and its relation to mental health among university students in ASEAN. Eating and Weight Disorders Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity, 23(3), 349-355.
[9]	Taha, A.A., Abu-Zaid, H.A., & Desouky, D.E., (2018). Eating Disorders Among Female Students of Taif University, Saudi Arabia. Arch Iran Med. 21(3): 111-7.
[10]	Hussein, R.A., Hamed, R.A., Raya, Y.M., Abdelghani, M., Hafiz, A.H., (2016). Prevalence of and attitudes toward eating disorders among female nurses. Middle East Curr Psychiatry 23: 44-9.
[11]	Al Sabbah, H., Muhsineh, S., (2017). Disordered Eating Attitudes and Exercise Behavior among Female Emirati College Students in the United Arab Emirates: A Cross-Sectional Study. Arab Journal of Nutrition and Exercise (AJNE). 1. 62.
[12]	Pengpid, S., Peltzer, K., & Ahsan, G.U., (2015). Risk of eating disorders among university students in Bangladesh. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 27(1): 93-100.
[13]	Rogoza, R., Brytek-Matera, A., & Garner, D. (2016). Analysis of the EAT-26 in a non-clinical sample. Archives of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, 18(2), 54-58.
[14]	Krabbenborg, M.A., Danner, U.N., Larsen, J.K., Veer, N., Elburg, A.A., Ridder, D.T., & Engels, R.C., (2011). The Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale: Psychometric Features Within a Clinical Population and a Cut-off Point to Differentiate Clinical Patients from Healthy Controls. European Eating Disorders Review 20(4): 315-320.
[15]	Bohon, C., Stice E., (2015). Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale. In: Wade T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Feeding and Eating Disorders. Springer, Singapore.
[16]	Galmiche M, Déchelotte P, Lambert G, Tavolacci MP. (2019). Prevalence of eating disorders over the 2000–2018 period: a systematic literature review Am J Clin Nutr; 109: 1402-1413.
[17]	Humme, S. (2015). Folgen der Orthorexia nervosa. Gesund, Gesünder, Orthorexia Nervosa, 29-34.
[18]	Nasser, M., (1988). Eating disorders: The cultural dimension. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 23, 184-187.
[19]	Shatkin, J.P., (2020). Increasing Access for the Treatment of Eating Disorders Among College Students. JAMA Netw Open. 3(8): e2016117.
[20]	Alhazmi, A.H., & Al Johani, A., (2019). Prevalence and associated factors of eating disorders among students in Taiba university, Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study Malay J Publ Health Med 19(1): 172-6.
[21]	Madanat, H., Brown, R., & Hawks, S. (2007). The impact of body mass index and Western advertising and media on eating style, body image and nutrition transition among Jordanian women. Public Health Nutrition, 10(10), 1039-1046.
[22]	Kronfol, Z., Khalifa, B., Khoury, B., Omar, O., Daouk, S., deWitt, J.P., et al., (2018). Selected psychiatric problems among college students in two Arab countries: Comparison with the USA. BMC Psychiatry 24:18.
[23]	Alwosaifer, A.M., Alawadh, S.A., Abdel Wahab, M.M., Boubshait, L.A., Almutairi, B.A., (2018). Eating disorders and associated risk factors among Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal university preparatory year female students in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Saudi Med J 39(9): 910-921.
[24]	Kilani, B.F., (2017). Prevalence of eating disorders among students at the University of Jordan. Arab Journal of Psychiatry 28: 76-82.
[25]	Bizri, M., Geagea, L., Kobeissy, F., Talih, F., (2020). Prevalence of Eating Disorders Among Medical Students in a Lebanese Medical School: A Cross-Sectional Study. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 16: 1879-1887.
[26]	Kugu, N., Akyuz, G., Dogan, O., Ersan, E., Izgic, F., (2006). The Prevalence of Eating Disorders Among University Students and the Relationship with Some Individual Characteristics Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 40(2): 129-35.
[27]	Okasha, A., Kamel, M., Sadek, A., Lotaif, Z.B., (1977). Psychiatric morbidity among university students in Egypt. Br J Psychiatry. 131: 149-154.
[28]	Tong, J., Miao, S., Wang, J., Yang, F., Lai, H., Zhang, C., Hsu, L. K. (2013). A two-stage epidemiologic study on prevalence of eating disorders in female university students in Wuhan, China. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 49(3), 499-505.
[29]	Hay, P., Girosi, F. & Mond, J., (2015). Prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of DSM-5 eating disorders in the Australian population. J Eat Disord 3(19).
[30]	Ahmed, S., Al Harbi, F.S., Al Saeed, O., Ali, S.I., (2019). Prevalence of night eating syndrome amongst medical students in Saudi Arabia Intern J Med Develop Count 3(1): 022-5.
[31]	Yu, Z., Tan, M., (2016). Disordered Eating Behaviors and Food Addiction among Nutrition Major College Students. Nutrients 8(11): 673. Published 2016 Oct 26.
[32]	Lipson, S., & Sonneville, K. (2017). Eating disorder symptoms among undergraduate and graduate students at 12 U.S. colleges and universities. Eating Behaviors, 24, 81-88.
[33]	Hilbert, A., Pike, K., Goldschmidt, A., Wiffley, D., Fairburn, C., Dohm, F., Walsh, T., & Weissman, R.S., (2014). Risk factors across the eating disorders. Psychiatry Research, 220(1-2), 500-506.
[34]	Boone, L., Soenens, B., Braet, C., & Goossens, L., (2010). An empirical typology of perfectionism in early-to-mid adolescents and its relation with eating disorder symptoms. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 48(7), 686-691.
[35]	Smith, M., Mann, L., Pruitt, J., & Thelen, M.H., (1986). Attitudes and knowledge regarding bulimia and anorexia nervosa. International Journal of Eating Disorders 5(3): 545-553.
[36]	Azhar, M., Nadeem, S., Naz, F., Perveen, F., & Sameen, A., (2013). Impact of parental education and socio-economic status on academic 427 achievements of university students Int J Acad Res Refl 1(3): 25-33. 428.