Eating disorders mental health literacy in Singapore: beliefs of young adult women concerning treatment and outcome of bulimia nervosa

Chen, Anna; Mond, Jonathan; Kumar, Rajeev

doi:10.1111/j.1751-7893.2009.00156.x

Cited by 14 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 39 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Against the background of poor eating disorder literacy in Singapore, (30) it is likely that individuals with AN may have presented to the clinic only because of telling signs such as severe weight loss and physical manifestations of medical complications, while those with BN or EDNOS might have sought help only after a longer duration. Participants with AN in our study presented at a significantly younger age compared to those with BN and EDNOS (AN 18.82 ± 6.02 years, BN 21.53 ± 5.88 years, EDNOS 21.95 ± 9.13 years; p = 0.005), in keeping with studies from the United Kingdom.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Eating psychopathology and psychosocial impairment in patients treated at a Singapore eating disorders treatment programme

Kuek

Lee

2018

smedj

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

INTRODUCTIONThere is limited data on the psychopathology of eating disorders in Singapore. This study: (a) described levels of eating psychopathology and psychosocial impairment among individuals diagnosed with eating disorders at our hospital; and (b) compared the related psychopathology of these patients. RESULTS A majority of participants were women and of Chinese ethnicity. Diagnoses included anorexia nervosa (AN; 41.6%), bulimia nervosa (BN; 29.6%) and eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS; 28.8%). Mean age at presentation was 20.52 ± 7.14 years and mean body mass index was 17.84 ± 4.18 kg/m 2 . Individuals with AN were significantly younger at presentation and had shorter duration of untreated illness compared to those with BN and EDNOS. There were no significant differences in the CIA scores of the diagnostic groups. Participants with BN scored higher in all subscales of the EDE-Q than those with AN and EDNOS. Our sample scored lower in most subscales of EDE-Q when compared to treatment centres in Sweden, Australia and the United States. METHODSCONCLUSION Our clinical sample reported lower scores of psychopathology compared to overseas centres. This could be attributed to the higher percentages of BN and EDNOS diagnosed in overseas populations. Individuals with AN showed higher levels of psychopathology in our study compared to patients from the United States.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Poor eating disorder literacy in Singapore could also be a compounding factor. (30) Future studies on the characteristics of eating disorders and cultural factors that influence eating disorders among individuals of Malay and Indian ethnicities would be of value.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eating psychopathology and psychosocial impairment in patients treated at a Singapore eating disorders treatment programme

Kuek

Lee

2018

smedj

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Due to the low eating disorder literacy in Singapore, it is possible that parents do not recognise signs of AN until their child is severely underweight. (27) The poor help-seeking rates for mental health problems in Singapore (27) could have also contributed to the increased illness severity. It is possible that even after an eating disorder is eventually noticed by family members, the patient (and family members) may still not seek treatment promptly due to misconceptions about the illness or the stigma associated with mental illness.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(26) The aforementioned reasons could be extrapolated to the Singaporean Indian population, and this cultural factor might be compounded by the poor eating disorder literacy in Singapore. (27) Hence, education and outreach programmes targeted at the Malay and Indian communities in Singapore should be increased to ensure that these groups seek help for mental health problems such as eating disorders.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The clinical profile of patients with anorexia nervosa in Singapore: a follow‑up descriptive study

Kuek

Utpala

Lee

2015

smedj

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

INTRODUCTIONThe prevalence rate of anorexia nervosa is lower in Asia than in the West, although studies have found that it is on the rise in Asia. This study aims to present the clinical profile of patients presenting with anorexia nervosa in Singapore. METHODSThe present study used archival data from the Eating Disorder Programme registry of the Department of Psychiatry, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore. Patient records from 2003 to 2010 were collected and analysed. Presenting characteristics of the patients were also compared with those of another local study conducted eight years earlier.RESULTS From 2003 to 2010, a total of 271 patients were diagnosed with anorexia nervosa by a psychiatrist in our hospital.Of these, 251 (92.6%) were female and 238 (87.8%) were Chinese. Our patients had a lower mean weight (36.83 kg, p < 0.001) and a lower mean body mass index (BMI) (14.43 kg/m 2 , p < 0.001) than patients from the previous local study. Almost half of all our patients (n = 135, 49.8%) were diagnosed with at least one psychiatric comorbidity and 50 (18.5%) had a history of self-harm. CONCLUSIONThe presenting characteristics of our study cohort were similar to those of the Western population.However, the lower presenting weight and BMI in our cohort indicates that cases seen today are more severe than those seen eight years ago. Therefore, it is important to put in place prevention programmes to help adolescents cultivate a healthy body image as well as early intervention programmes to improve detection rates and treatment outcomes.

show abstract

“…Studies assessing recognition of depression among undergraduates have examined their ability to recognise the symptoms of depression or their ability to accurately label the condition when presented in a vignette [ 3 , 4 , 26 , 30 , 31 ]. Many studies have examined undergraduates’ knowledge about dealing with mental disorders by examining their personal help-seeking intentions if affected by the problem, and their treatment beliefs assessed by examining their perceptions about the helpfulness of different options of help [ 4 , 32 – 35 ]. While both these aspects reflect knowledge about dealing with the examined disorders, they are also found to predict actual help-seeking behaviours [ 36 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Depression literacy of undergraduates in a non-western developing context: the case of Sri Lanka

2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundResearch examining the depression literacy of undergraduates in non-western developing countries is limited. This study explores this among undergraduates in Sri Lanka.MethodsA total of 4671 undergraduates responded to a survey presenting a vignette of a depressed undergraduate. They were asked to identify the problem, describe their intended help-seeking actions if affected by it and rate the helpfulness of a range of help-providers and interventions for dealing with it. Mental health experts also rated these options, providing a benchmark for assessing the undergraduates’ responses.ResultsOnly 17.4 % of undergraduates recognised depression, but this was significantly lower among those responding in Sinhala compared to English (3.5 vs 36.8 %). More undergraduates indicated intentions of seeking informal help, such as from friends and parents, than from professionals, such as psychiatrists and counsellors. However, a majority rated all these help-providers as ‘helpful’, aligning with expert opinion. Other options recommended by experts and rated as ‘helpful’ by a large proportion of undergraduates included counselling/psychological therapy and self-help strategies such as doing enjoyable activities and meditation/yoga/relaxation exercises. However, a low proportion of undergraduates rated “western medicine to improve mood” as ‘helpful’, deviating from expert opinion. Although not endorsed by experts, undergraduates indicated intentions of using religious strategies, highly endorsing these as ‘helpful’. Labelling the problem as depression and using mental health-related labels were both associated with higher odds of endorsing professional help, with the label ‘depression’ associated with endorsing a wider range of professional options.ConclusionsThe recognition rate of depression might be associated with the language used to label it. These undergraduates’ knowledge about the use of medication for depression needs improvement. Health promotion interventions for depressed undergraduates must be designed in light of the prevalent socio-cultural backdrop, such as the undergraduates’ high endorsement of informal and culturally relevant help-seeking. Improving their ability to recognise the problem as being mental health-related might trigger their use of professional options of help.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13104-015-1589-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

show abstract

Eating disorders mental health literacy in Singapore: beliefs of young adult women concerning treatment and outcome of bulimia nervosa

Abstract: Aspects of the eating disorders mental health literacy of young Singaporean women may be conducive to low or inappropriate treatment seeking. Health promotion programmes need to target not only at-risk individuals, but also their family members and social circle.

Cited by 14 publications

References 39 publications

Eating psychopathology and psychosocial impairment in patients treated at a Singapore eating disorders treatment programme

Eating psychopathology and psychosocial impairment in patients treated at a Singapore eating disorders treatment programme

The clinical profile of patients with anorexia nervosa in Singapore: a follow‑up descriptive study

Depression literacy of undergraduates in a non-western developing context: the case of Sri Lanka

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About