Severity and Population Affected by Eating Disorder in America

Morbidity refers to how often or to what degree a disease occurs within specific populations and mortality to the deadliness of the disease, the mortality rate associated with a disease rises, it means that more people are now dying from that disease. As health professionals try to place various diseases into perspective, they discuss morbidity and mortality rates. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rates of any mental illness.

At one time, eating disorders were thought to be the domain of young, Caucasian girls. Today, experts know that they can affect all ages, ethnicities, and genders. What they don't know is morbidity-to what degree the disorder occurs within specific populations. Estimates of how many people in the United States have an eating disorder range from five to ten million, according to the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH), the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), and the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD). The New England Journal of Medicine reported in 1999 that more than half of all people with eating disorders are not diagnosed. With a diagnosis, there can be no treatment. The longer an eating disorder continues without treatment, the more likely it is to result in death.

COMORBIDITY

Comorbidity is the appearance of two or more diseases or disorders at the same time. Comorbidity does not mean that one disorder causes the other. It means that in many cases, people with one disorder also have another. The more doctors know about the comorbidity of various medical problems, the more likely they are to provide patients with thorough examinations and accurate diagnoses.

Depression is the most common disorder found in conjunction with anorexia. In fact, those suffering with anorexia have an 80 percent risk of experiencing a major depression, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians.

POPULATIONS MOST AFFECTED

Today medical professionals know that eating disorders are not restricted to young, Caucasian girls. However, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAJFP) and other experts note that those young women remain the population that is most affected by such disorders. AAFP estimates that approximately 90 percent of those suffering from eating disorders are women. The National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH) is more specific. It estimates that 90 percent of people with eating disorders are adolescent women.

Eating disorders also affect men and boys. According to a 2001 study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, there is a ratio of one male with anorexia to every four females with the eating disorder. There is one male with bulimia for every eight to 11 females with the disorder.

ANAD reports that in the United States, Latlnas are as likely as Caucasian women to have an eating disorder and that the incidence among African Americans (particularly in regard to bulimia and laxative abuse) is higher than previously thought.

Researchers at ANAD and other experts in eating disorders note that people who participate in sports and activities in which a small, thin body is emphasized are more likely to develop eating disorders than others. Dancers, ice skaters, gymnasts, runners, swimmers, wrestlers, jockeys, and models fall into that category.

The results of a 10-year study conducted by ANAD reveals that 86 percent of those who reported eating disorders say they began before the age of 20. About 10 percent of those eating disorders started before the age of 10. ANAD also looked at the duration of eating disorders and found that for 30 percent of those surveyed, their disorder lasted between one and five years; 32 percent battled the disorder for six to 10 years; and 16 percent suffered for 11 to 15 years. Only 50 percent of the people they studied claimed to be cured.