Medical and Health News: Disorders

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Thursday, April 7, 2011

Growth In Prevalence Of Eating Disorders Prompts Care UK To Expand Service Offering

Main Category: Eating Disorders
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A marked national growth in acute, severe and enduring cases of eating disorders has prompted Care UK to expand its service offering with the acquisition of a renowned acute hospital that specialises in the treatment of children and adolescents suffering from anorexia, bulimia and similar conditions.

"We plan to extend this approach to Rhodes Farm to add to its established reputation for successful weight restoration and psychological intervention and so develop a market- leading service that makes a real difference to the young person's perception of themselves and to their future quality of life."

Care UK, which already runs two successful intensive rehabilitation units at Althea Park in Gloucestershire, has completed the purchase of the Rhodes Farm Clinic which operates from Mill Hill in London and was formerly owned and run by Dr Dee Dawson.

Care UK sees Rhodes Farm as an excellent complementary addition to its existing eating disorder service which focuses on a highly successful rehabilitation and recovery approach. This approach places the emphasis on psychological and social interventions and on treating the psychological issues which underlie the eating disorder, rather than focusing exclusively on weight gain.

Rhodes Farm, as an acute facility, will continue to help young people attain a healthy weight in order to enable them to go on to engage effectively in a psychological and social therapeutic programme. More importantly they also provide a range of therapies designed to help young people and their families manage and understand eating disorders. Last year 87% of clients discharged were successfully supported in the community, preventing the need for readmission.

Care UK's Managing Director for Mental Health, Dr Alison Rose-Quirie said: "Care UK offers a residential alternative to hospital treatment for people who have already tried other routes many times. A significant number of people with eating disorders get stuck in a 'revolving door' cycle of treatment and relapse. This pattern can seriously impact upon a person's life and identity, as well as their physical and mental health. Our programmes are specifically designed to help young women with eating disorders bring about life change and not just weight change. We actively support people to rediscover an identity outside of their illness, an approach which can have dramatic positive results."

Source:
Care UK

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Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Hospitalizations For Eating Disorders Among Young Kids Rose 119% In 7 Years

Editor's Choice
Main Category: Eating Disorders
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry; Pediatrics / Children's Health; Mental Health
Article Date: 29 Nov 2010 - 6:00 PST window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init({ appId: 'aa16a4bf93f23f07eb33109d5f1134d3', status: true, cookie: true, xfbml: true, channelUrl: 'http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/scripts/facebooklike.html'}); }; (function() { var e = document.createElement('script'); e.async = true; e.src = document.location.protocol + '//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js'; document.getElementById('fb-root').appendChild(e); }());

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Hospitalizations of children younger than 12 years rose by 119% from 1999 to 2006, a report issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) revealed in the journal Pediatrics. Overall, including all age groups, the same period saw a 15% increase in hospitalizations for eating disorders.

The typical profile for an at-risk individual (child) is no longer useful, the authors stress. The AAP urges doctors and pediatricians to screen all children, adolescents and pre-adolescents for anorexia, bulimia and other eating disorders. The screening should occur during routine check-ups.

It is a myth that only Caucasian, well-off females are at risk, David S. Rosen, MD, from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and team wrote.

If an individual has a compulsion to eat or not eat, and that compulsion has a negative effect on their physical and mental health, they probably have an eating disorder. Anorexia Nervosa (Anorexia) and Bulimia Nervosa (Bulimia) are the most common types of eating disorders.

Anorexia Nervosa is a psychological disorder; the individual has a distorted body image and an unreasonable fear of becoming fat, so they deliberately try to lose weight. Most of anorexia nervosa patients are female, but males can also suffer from it.

Bulimia Nervosa is also defined as a psychological disorder. There are regular episodes of serious overeating, followed by feelings of guilt. This can result in extreme reactions, such as doing lots of exercise, crash dieting, and deliberately vomiting (purging).

Eating disorders have progressively and steadily been affecting younger and younger children, as well as boys, and children from minority groups, the researchers inform.

Depending on how an eating disorder is defined, up to 14% of children may be affected at some time. Of growing concern are children involved in competitive sports, such as athletics, running and gymnastics.

The results of the anti-obesity drive over the last few years - focusing on eating habits and losing weight - may have unintentionally contributed towards an increase in eating disorders, the authors add.

Doctors should focus on healthy eating when counseling families. When dealing with overweight/obesity it is vital that building self-esteem forms part of a treatment program.

The authors wrote: "Care needs to be taken not to inadvertently enable excessive dieting, compulsive exercise, or other potentially unhealthy weight-management strategies."As part of a child's routine check-up, their weight should be monitored, as well as BMI (body mass index), height, girls should be tracked for their menstrual status. The health care professional should also seek to find out what the child's eating habits are, as well as their body image. If a patient has abnormal weight concerns, is dieting excessively, is losing weight or not developing (growing) properly, they should be assessed for an eating disorder and be monitored closely.

Signs of amenorrhea may be an indication of an eating disorder in girls. Amenorrhea has two meanings: 1. Primary amenorrhea - menstruation never occurred, it fails to occur at puberty. 2. Secondary amenorrhea - menstruation begins, but then ceases.

Younger children may not have the typical signs of an eating disorder. There might not be significant weight loss or body image problems. A younger child with an eating disorder is more likely to have growth problems. Pre-adolescent boys are just as likely to have an eating disorder as girls of the same age.

If a non-specialist GP (general practitioner, primary care physician) is not comfortable with the assessment aspects of eating disorders, he/she should refer to child to a specialist.

The authors point out that with appropriate treatment and monitoring, the vast majority of children with an eating disorder eventually make a full recovery.

Other examples of eating disorders, apart from anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are binge eating disorder, rumination disorder, diabulimia, food maintenance syndrome, female athlete triad, pica, night eating disorder, and orthorexia nervosa.

"Clinical Report-Identification and Management of Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents"
David S. Rosen, MD, MPH, THE COMMITTEE ON ADOLESCENCE
PEDIATRICS (doi:10.1542/peds.2010-2821)

Written by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

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The Impact Of Eating Disorders On Native-Americans Revealed By New Study

Main Category: Eating Disorders
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry
Article Date: 08 Jan 2011 - 0:00 PST window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init({ appId: 'aa16a4bf93f23f07eb33109d5f1134d3', status: true, cookie: true, xfbml: true, channelUrl: 'http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/scripts/facebooklike.html'}); }; (function() { var e = document.createElement('script'); e.async = true; e.src = document.location.protocol + '//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js'; document.getElementById('fb-root').appendChild(e); }());

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Scientists in Connecticut have carried out one of the first psychological studies into eating disorders in Native American (NA) populations. The research, published in The International Journal of Eating Disorders, provides new insights into the extent to which Native American populations experience eating disorders, revealing that women are more likely to report behavioral symptoms then men, while challenging views that NA men and ethnically white men will experience different psychological symptoms.

The team, led by Professor Ruth Striegel-Moore from Wesleyan University in Connecticut, studied data taken from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health for over 10,000 men and women with a average age of 22. Of these, 236 women and 253 men were either Native American or Inuit.

Research into eating disorders in Native Americans has lagged behind research of other mental disorders, leaving many unanswered basic questions about prevalence in major demographic groups of populations indigenous to the US, including Native American, Native Hawaiian, or Alaskan Natives.

"Little is known about eating disorder symptoms in Native American populations for several reasons," said Striegel-Moore. "Even though the U.S. government recognizes over 500 NA tribes one of the biggest research challenges is to find an adequate sample size. Our aim was to examine prevalence of behavioral symptoms of eating disorders in a public access data base to get an initial estimate of the extent to which young NA adults experience such problems."

The team confirmed the theory that NA women were more likely than NA men to report behavioral symptoms of eating disorders, revealing that regardless of race, ethnicity or nationality, research consistently shows that women are more vulnerable to developing disordered eating behaviors or full syndrome eating disorders than men.

The team also found a parallel between NA women and ethnically white women when considering the prevalence of binge eating, purging and "ever having been diagnosed with an eating disorder."

"This commonality between NA and white women refutes the myth that eating disorders are problems that only affect white girls and women" said Striegel-Moore.

Finally the team found that there was no significant difference between NA men and ethnically white men, again demonstrating how the affects of eating disorders are not restricted by racial groups.

While this research was one of the first into the psychological effect of eating disorders in NA populations it can now lead to further, longer studies. The team's findings were based on 7 days which is shorter than similar studies conducted over 28 days. Further research will also be conducted into the attitudinal symptoms of eating disorders, compared to the behavioral symptoms being discussed in this paper.

"This research provides us with a first glimpse into the extent to which young adult NA populations experience behavioral symptoms of eating disorders," concluded Striegel-Moore. "In the eating disorder field this type of epidemiological study has lagged behind other research, but now we have a foundation to study the distribution of eating disorders and identify psychological risk factors in Native American populations."

Source:
Ben Norman
Wiley-Blackwell

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AAP Clinical Report: Children's Eating Disorders On The Rise

Main Category: Eating Disorders
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 30 Nov 2010 - 5:00 PST window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init({ appId: 'aa16a4bf93f23f07eb33109d5f1134d3', status: true, cookie: true, xfbml: true, channelUrl: 'http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/scripts/facebooklike.html'}); }; (function() { var e = document.createElement('script'); e.async = true; e.src = document.location.protocol + '//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js'; document.getElementById('fb-root').appendChild(e); }());

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In the past decade, a growing number of children and adolescents have been diagnosed with eating disorders. In a new clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), "Identification and Management of Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents," published in the December 2010 issue of Pediatrics (published online Nov. 29), it is estimated that 0.5 percent of adolescent girls in the United States have anorexia nervosa, and 1 percent to 2 percent meet criteria for bulimia nervosa.

There is an increasing recognition of eating disorders in males, which now represent up to 10 percent of all cases of eating disorders, as well as in children of younger ages. A recent analysis by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality revealed that from 1999 to 2006, hospitalizations for eating disorders in children under 12 years of age increased by 119 percent.

The clinical report suggests pediatricians be familiar with early detection and proper evaluation of patients suspected of having a disorder. Because medical complications of eating disorders can affect any organ system, pediatricians should monitor patients for medical or nutritional problems, and ensure appropriate treatment options including medical care, mental health treatment and nutritional intervention.

Source:
American Academy of Pediatrics

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Eating Disorders Among Children Rising At An Alarming Rate

Main Category: Eating Disorders
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 10 Dec 2010 - 6:00 PST window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init({ appId: 'aa16a4bf93f23f07eb33109d5f1134d3', status: true, cookie: true, xfbml: true, channelUrl: 'http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/scripts/facebooklike.html'}); }; (function() { var e = document.createElement('script'); e.async = true; e.src = document.location.protocol + '//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js'; document.getElementById('fb-root').appendChild(e); }());

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A recent report published by the American Academy of Pediatrics shows hospitalizations for eating disorders in children under 12 increased 119 percent between 1999 and 2006. "This is an alarming trend because small children develop their foundation of self worth and body worth in their early years (birth to five years old)," said Dr. Kimberly Dennis, medical director at Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center. "This increase in hospitalizations show today's children have distorted body image issues to such a degree it is causing unhealthy, even deadly, behavior."

According to the study, evidence of excessive weight concern, inappropriate dieting, or a pattern of weight loss in children requires further attention. Talking to the parent of a child may also yield information, however parents could be unaware, or even part, of the problem.

"If a mother is anxious about eating, hates her body or has an unhealthy relationship with food, this can be directly transmitted to her children in deep, long lasting ways," Dr. Dennis said. "The child absorbs and internalizes these same beliefs, regardless of whether or not they were ever explicitly communicated."

Often times, the media is blamed for portraying men and women unrealistically. "Media is not going to change, but parents can," said Dr. Dennis. "The impact that one woman has on her children is exponentially more powerful than anything the media or culture can do to prevent eating disorders," she said. "Eating disorders are family diseases, and are best when treated as such."

"Early treatment can not only save the individual, but also family members. We see it every day at Timberline Knolls. We are not only helping women save their own lives, but their recoveries have deep and healing influences on their children and other impressionable people in their lives, so recovery reaches more than just one person."

Source: Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center

posted by Rachel on 8 Jan 2011 at 5:52 pm

Another person blaming the MOM for a child's eating disorder...so typical but VERY WRONG!

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Eating Disorders And Body Dissatisfaction Is Double In Muslim Teenagers Than In Christian

Main Category: Eating Disorders
Article Date: 09 Mar 2011 - 1:00 PST window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init({ appId: 'aa16a4bf93f23f07eb33109d5f1134d3', status: true, cookie: true, xfbml: true, channelUrl: 'http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/scripts/facebooklike.html'}); }; (function() { var e = document.createElement('script'); e.async = true; e.src = document.location.protocol + '//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js'; document.getElementById('fb-root').appendChild(e); }());

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The incidence of eating disorders was found to be 2.3-fold higher among Muslim adolescents than among their Christian classmates. Similarly, body dissatisfaction was 1.8-fold higher in the former group. Finally, as a general conclusion, an average of one in four adolescents suffers some type of eating disorder, and 15% suffers body dissatisfaction. These were the conclusions drawn of a research conducted at the University of Granada.

The sample was taken from a Spanish multicultural city, Ceuta, where different religious groups have co-existed for centuries Christian, Muslim, Jews, and where about 30% of the total population is Muslim. The goal of this study was to assess the incidence of eating disorders and body dissatisfaction in a non-clinical sample of adolescents belonging to different religious groups, and assess the relationship between religious affiliation and health disorders.

To carry out this research, the authors examined a sample of 493 students aged between 12 and 20 years from three public schools in Ceuta, including secondary school.

Pioneer Study

The author of this study, Francisco Javier Ramón Jarne, belongs to the Institute of Neuroscience "Federico Olóriz" of the University of Granada. This research "addresses a subject that has never been studied in Spain before: the relationship between religious affiliation, eating disorders and body image perception. As regards other international studies, this is one of the few comparative studies ever made by religious affiliation (Christian and Muslim) and gender". So far, only one similar study had been developed in Israel with a sample of Christian, Muslim and Jew adolescent girls.

The recent massive migratory movements mainly from countries of the Maghrib experienced in Spain have transformed the religious affiliation of its population. "This makes the results of this study very interesting from the point of view of preventive medicine and public health", Francisco Javier Ramón Jarne states.

The University of Granada researcher pointed out that "affiliation to the Islamic religion taken as a socio-cultural factor can also be associated to these disorders, even although the thin ideal is not associated to the Islamic culture".

The research carried out by Francisco Javier Ramón Jarne was conducted by professors Manuel Gurpegui Fernández de Legaria and Dolores Jurado Chacón.

Sources: University of Granada, AlphaGalileo Foundation.

posted by smile on 10 Mar 2011 at 6:26 am

Extremely intersting article. You may find the new book 'Angel Just-Rights' by Rebecca Parker helpful and insightful. She prods at aspects relating to this subject area throughout.

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