Men’s experiences of eating disorder treatment: A qualitative systematic review of men‐only studies

Richardson, Clifford; Paslakis, Georgios

doi:10.1111/jpm.12670

Cited by 25 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Most of the included systematic reviews concerned both women and men with EDs, but men were underrepresented relative to their expected incidence, which possibly reflects the proportions of women and men that are studied in the primary qualitative studies of EDs. This is confirmed by a recent systematic review on men’s experiences of ED treatment[ 42 ], which identified only nine primary studies (not included in this review since it was published after our literature search). Since the prevalence of EDs is known to be higher among women, there might be a tendency to overlook the problem in men and boys.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

Experiences of eating disorders from the perspectives of patients, family members and health care professionals: a meta-review of qualitative evidence syntheses

et al. 2021

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Background Eating disorders are serious conditions that cause major suffering for patients and their families. Better knowledge about perceptions of eating disorders and their treatment, and which factors that facilitate or hinder recovery, is desired in order to develop the clinical work. We aimed to explore and synthesise experiences of eating disorders from the perspectives of those suffering from an eating disorder, their family members and health care professionals through an overarching meta-review of systematic reviews in the field. Methods A systematic literature search was conducted in the databases PubMed, PsycInfo, Scopus, and CINAHL. Inclusion criteria were systematic reviews of qualitative research on experiences, perceptions, needs, or desires related to eating disorders from the perspective of patients, family members or health care professionals. Systematic reviews that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were assessed for relevance and methodological limitations by at least two researchers independently. The key findings were analysed and synthesised into themes. Results We identified 17 systematic reviews that met our inclusion criteria. Of these, 13 reviews reported on the patients’ perspective, five on the family members’ perspective, and three on the health care professionals’ perspective. The study population in the reviews was predominantly girls and young women with anorexia nervosa, whilst systematic reviews focusing on other eating disorders were scarce. The findings regarding each of the three perspectives resulted in themes that could be synthesised into three overarching themes: 1) being in control or being controlled, 2) balancing physical recovery and psychological needs, and 3) trusting relationships. Conclusions There were several similarities between the views of patients, family members and health care professionals, especially regarding the significance of building trustful therapeutic alliances that also included family members. However, the informants sometimes differed in their views, particularly on the use of the biomedical model, which was seen as helpful by health care professionals, while patients and family members felt that it failed to address their psychological distress. Acknowledging these differences is important for the understanding of anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders, and may help clinicians to broaden treatment approaches to meet the expectations of patients and family members.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

Experiences of eating disorders from the perspectives of patients, family members and health care professionals: a meta-review of qualitative evidence syntheses

et al. 2021

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“…No group differences in duration of illness emerged in the current study. Some studies have highlighted that males with eating disorders report delayed recognition of the eating disorder and difficulties accessing treatment [ 41 ]. Males are also more likely to have an undiagnosed eating disorder, which has been attributed to perceived stigma and reluctance to seek treatment [ 23 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender differences in symptom presentation and treatment outcome in children and youths with eating disorders

et al. 2021

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Background To address the gaps in the literature examining eating disorders among males and gender minority youths, a prospective study was designed to assess gender differences in eating disorder symptom presentation and outcomes. Muscularity concerns may be particularly relevant for male youths with eating disorders, and were included in assessment of eating disorder symptom presentation. Methods All cisgender male youths who presented for specialized eating disorder treatment at one of two sites were invited to participate, along with a group of matched cisgender females, and all youths who did not identify with the sex assigned to them at birth. Youths completed measures of eating disorder symptoms, including muscularity concerns, and other psychiatric symptoms at baseline and end of treatment. Results A total of 27 males, 28 females and 6 trans youths took part in the study. At baseline, Kruskal–Wallis tests demonstrated that trans youths reported higher scores than cisgender male and female youths on measures of eating pathology (Eating disorder examination-questionnaire (EDE-Q) and the body fat subscale of the male body attitudes scale (MBAS)). These analyses demonstrated that there were no differences between cisgender male and female youths on eating disorder symptoms at baseline. However, repeated measures ANOVA demonstrated that males had greater decreases in eating pathology at discharge than did females, based on self-reported scores on the EDE-Q, MBAS, and Body Change Inventory. Conclusions Gender differences in eating pathology appeared at baseline, with trans youths reporting higher levels of eating pathology than cisgender youths, though no differences between cisgender males and females emerged at baseline for eating disorder symptom presentation. Contrary to expectations, there were no gender differences in measures of muscularity concerns. Males demonstrated greater eating disorder symptom improvements than females, suggesting that male adolescents may have better treatment outcomes than females in some domains.

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“…No group differences in duration of illness emerged in the current study. Some studies have highlighted that males with eating disorders report delayed recognition of the eating disorder and difficulties accessing treatment (Richardson & Paslakis, 2021). Males are also more likely to have an undiagnosed eating disorder, which has been attributed to perceived stigma and reluctance to seek treatment (Griffiths et al, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Coelho

Suen

Marshall

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background. To address the gaps in the literature examining eating disorders among males and gender minority youths, a prospective study was designed to assess gender differences in eating disorder symptom presentation and outcomes. Muscularity concerns may be particularly relevant for male youths with eating disorders, and were included in assessment of eating disorder symptom presentation. Methods. All male youths who presented for specialized eating disorder treatment at one of two sites were invited to participate, along with a group of matched females, and all youths who did not identify with the sex assigned to them at birth. Youths completed measures of eating disorder symptoms, including muscularity concerns, and other psychiatric symptoms at baseline and end of treatment.Results. A total of 27 males, 28 females and 6 trans youths took part in the study. At baseline, Kruskal-Wallis tests demonstrated that trans youths reported higher scores than cisgender male and female youths on measures of eating pathology (Eating Disorder Examination – Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and the body fat subscale of the Male Body Attitudes Scale (MBAS)). These analyses demonstrated that there were no differences between cisgender male and female youths on eating disorder symptoms at baseline. However, repeated measures ANOVA demonstrated that males had greater decreases than did females in eating pathology at discharge than did females, based on self-reported scores on the EDE-Q, MBAS, and Body Change Inventory. Conclusions. Gender differences in eating pathology appeared at baseline, with trans youths reporting higher levels of eating pathology than cisgender youths, though no differences between cisgender males and females emerged at baseline for eating disorder symptom presentation. Contrary to expectations, there were no gender differences in measures of muscularity concerns. Males demonstrated greater eating disorder symptom improvements than females, suggesting that male adolescents may have better treatment outcomes than females in some domains.

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Men’s experiences of eating disorder treatment: A qualitative systematic review of men‐only studies

Cited by 25 publications

References 43 publications

Experiences of eating disorders from the perspectives of patients, family members and health care professionals: a meta-review of qualitative evidence syntheses

Experiences of eating disorders from the perspectives of patients, family members and health care professionals: a meta-review of qualitative evidence syntheses

Gender differences in symptom presentation and treatment outcome in children and youths with eating disorders

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

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