NEDA TOOLKIT for Parents
Based on the Hudson et al., 2007 study of 9,282
people, approximately 20 million females and 10
million males in the US have a clinically significant
eating disorder at some point in their lifetime.
Eating Disorder Diagnosis Over Time
Have these numbers changed over time? The answer
isn’t clear. It does appear that, at least for the last two
decades, the rates of new diagnoses of anorexia and
bulimia have remained relatively stable.
• An ongoing study in Minnesota has found
incidence of anorexia increasing over the
last 50 years only in females aged 15 to 24.
Incidence remained stable in other age groups
and in males (Lucas et al., 1999).
• A Dutch study published in the International
Journal of Eating Disorders found that new
diagnoses of anorexia and bulimia remained
relatively steady in the Netherlands from
1985-1989 to 1995-1999 (van Son et al., 2006).
• An analysis of many studies from Europe and
North America revealed that rates of anorexia
increased sharply until the 1970s, when they
stabilized. • Rates of bulimia increased during the 1980s
and early 1990s, and they have since remained
the same or decreased slightly (Smink, van
Hoeken, & van Hoek, 2012).
• A British study also found stability in new
anorexia and bulimia diagnoses in both
males and females, although rates of EDNOS
diagnoses increased in both groups
(Micali et al., 2013). (Please note that in the
new DSM-5, EDNOS is no longer recognized and
a new term of OSFED has been added, meaning
Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder).
• Eating disorder symptoms are beginning earlier
in both males and females, which agrees with
both formal research (Favaro et al., 2009) and
clinical reports.
References: Bulik CM, Sullivan PF, Tozzi F, Furberg H, Lichtenstein P, and
Pedersen NL. (2006). Prevalence, heritability, and prospective
risk factors for anorexia nervosa. Archives of General
Psychiatry, 63(3):305-12. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.63.3.305.
References (continued):
Favaro A, Caregaro L, Tenconi E, Bosello R, and Santonastaso
P. (2009). Time trends in age at onset of anorexia nervosa and
bulimia nervosa. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 70(12):1715-21.
doi: 10.4088/JCP.09m05176blu.
Hart LM, Granillo MT, Jorm AF, and Paxton SJ. (2011). Unmet
need for treatment in the eating disorders: a systematic
review of eating disorder specific treatment seeking among
community cases. Clinical Psychology Reviews, 31(5):727-35.
doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2011.03.004.
Hoek HW and van Hoeken D. (2003). Review of the prevalence
and incidence of eating disorders. International Journal of
Eating Disorders, 34(4):383-96. doi: 10.1002/eat.10222.
Hudson JI, Hiripi E, Pope HG Jr, and Kessler RC. (2007). The
prevalence and correlates of eating disorders in the National
Comorbidity Survey Replication. Biological Psychiatry,
61(3):348-58. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.03.040.
Keski-Rahkonen A, Hoek HW, Susser ES, Linna MS, Sihvola
E, Raevuori A, …, and Rissanen A. (2007). Epidemiology and
course of anorexia nervosa in the community. American
Journal of Psychiatry, 164(8):1259-65. doi: 10.1176/appi.
ajp.2007.06081388. Lucas AR, Crowson CS, O’Fallon WM, Melton LJ 3rd. (1999).
The ups and downs of anorexia nervosa. International Journal
of Eating Disorders, 26(4):397-405. DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1098-
108X(199912)26:4<397::AID-EAT5>3.0.CO;2-0. Micali N, Hagberg KW, Petersen I, and Treasure JL. (2013). The
incidence of eating disorders in the UK in 2000–2009: findings
from the General Practice Research Database. BMJ Open, 3(5):
e002646. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2013-002646.
Raevuori A, Hoek HW, Susser E, Kaprio J, Rissanen A, and
Keski-Rahkonen A. (2009). Epidemiology of anorexia nervosa
in men: a nationwide study of Finnish twins. PLoS ONE, doi:
10.1371/journal.pone.0004402. Smink FR, van Hoeken D, and Hoek HW. (2012). Epidemiology
of eating disorders: incidence, prevalence and mortality
rates. Current Psychiatry Reports, 14(4):406-14. doi: 10.1007/
s11920-012-0282-y. Stice E & Bohon C. (2012). Eating Disorders. In Child and
Adolescent Psychopathology, 2nd Edition, Theodore
Beauchaine & Stephen Linshaw, eds. New York: Wiley.
Stice E, Marti CN, Shaw H, and Jaconis M. (2010). An 8-year
longitudinal study of the natural history of threshold,
subthreshold, and partial eating disorders from a community
sample of adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Psychology,
118(3):587-97. doi: 10.1037/a0016481.
van Son GE, van Hoeken D, Bartelds AI, van Furth EF, and Hoek
HW. (2012). Time trends in the incidence of eating disorders:
a primary care study in the Netherlands. International Journal
of Eating Disorders, 39(7):565-9. doi: 10.1002/eat.20316.
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