Dissatisfaction with skin appearance among patients with eating disorders and non-clinical controls

Abstract

Background: We have recently observed that women with the eating disorders (EDs) anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa report a significantly greater (P = 0.002) dissatisfaction with the appearance of their skin than do non-clinical controls.

Objectives: To examine further the nature of the dissatisfaction with skin appearance in women with EDs.

Methods: Several psychosocial and body image parameters, including whether or not the subjects were satisfied with a wide range of attributes associated with non-diseased skin, were surveyed in women aged < or = 30 years. Survey data from 32 women with EDs and 34 randomly selected community-based non-clinical controls were examined.

Results: Eighty-one per cent of the patients with EDs vs. 56% of the controls reported dissatisfaction with the appearance of their skin (P = 0.03), particularly with respect to its dryness and roughness. Other attributes that were rated more frequently were 'bags' and 'darkness' under the eyes, freckles, fine wrinkles and patchy hyperpigmentation.

Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of dissatisfaction with skin appearance among women aged < or = 30 years, which is even higher among patients with EDs.