Eating Disorders in Males: An 8-Year Population-Based Observational Study

Abstract

The objective of the study was the realistic evaluation of the prevalence of eating disorders (ED) among Polish men who sought treatment through the National Health Fund (NFZ) in the years 2010–2017. According to ICD-10, four types of ED were analyzed: anorexia nervosa—AN (F50.0), atypical anorexia nervosa (F50.1), bulimia nervosa—BN (F50.2), and atypical bulimia nervosa (F50.3). The NFZ database was used. The ED groups were defined according to ICD-10 codes. Demographic data were collected from the web page of Statistics Poland (GUS). The annual prevalence of EDs was estimated, and the age groups were categorized into nine groups. For the incidence of EDs in male patients in the years 2010–2017, relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was calculated. The frequency trend of AN in males remains relatively stable. AN occurred mainly in young men (between 11 and 30 years). It was noted that AN affected approximately 100 men in each year of observation, while atypical anorexia nervosa affected about 40 men. In 2017, the RR for EDs in young males was 0.041 (95% CI [0.033, 0.051]). Bulimia was relatively rare (about 35 males each year). The incidence of EDs in males is a relatively constant phenomenon. The real number of male patients with EDs may be higher. The current conceptualizations of ED pathology should be modified and better adapted to men. Clinical guidelines for specialists working with males with EDs should be developed.

Bulimia symptoms in Czech youth: prevalence and association with internalizing problems

“…The combined prevalence of bulimia symptoms that could potentially constitute a disorder (CLBS—3.8% in boys versus 11.4% in girls) was substantially lower than the prevalence of the individual bulimia symptoms, but still higher than the prevalence of a clinical diagnosis of the disorder in the general population reported in previous studies, where estimated prevalence rates have ranged between .9% and 3% for bulimia, and were 4.8% for EDNOS [ 8 ]. It is important to keep in mind that the presence of a CLBS was evaluated based solely on a self-report scale (that included all affirmative answers, i.e.…”

“…They are difficult to treat, impose a significant burden on health services and have one of the highest mortality rates of all psychological disorders [2]. Bulimia, defined by an overvaluation of weight, shape and the behavioral symptoms of recurrent binge eating accompanied by purging and fasting, is one of the most common ED [3], although until now, the prevalence of bulimia symptoms in the general population, especially outside the US, has been less well investigated [4] (see, however, [5][6][7][8]).…”

The majority of professionally active women diagnosed with eating disorders may be at risk of work addiction: an overlooked comorbidity

“…AN occurs in 8 cases per 100,000 population per year, and BN is in 12 cases per 100,000 population per year (Hoek & Van Hoeken, 2003). The prevalence of eating disorders in Poland can be expected to be similar to those estimates; however, the scarcity of good epidemiological studies prevents a more in-depth analysis of this aspect (Jaworski et al, 2019). Moreover, the majority of studies indicate that prevalence of EDs is constantly increasing (Hudson et al, 2007;Micali, Hagberg, Petersen, & Treasure, 2013;Pike & Dunne, 2015), although it may be due to changes in diagnostic criteria (Qian et al, 2013).…”

Gender Differences in Symptom Presentation and Treatment Outcome in Children and Youths With Eating Disorders

“…Similarly, 25% of an Australian sample of children with early onset eating disorders that were boys (Madden, Morris, Zurynski, Kohn, & Elliot, 2009). The reason for the higher proportion of young males in pediatric services relative to adult services is not clear; however, a population-based study in Poland suggests that eating disorders occur primarily in young men between the ages of 11-30 years (Jaworski et al, 2019).…”