Time trends in the incidence of eating disorders: a primary care study in the Netherlands

Abstract

Objective: This Dutch epidemiological study used primary care-based data to examine changes in the incidence of eating disorders in the 1990s compared to the 1980s.

Method: A nationwide network of general practitioners, serving a representative sample of the total Dutch population, recorded newly diagnosed patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) in their practices during 1985-1989 and 1995-1999.

Results: The overall incidence of AN was stable (from 7.4 to 7.7 per 100,000). However, the incidence among 15-19-year-old females increased significantly (from 56.4 to 109.2 per 100,000). The incidence rate of BN decreased nonsignificantly from 8.6 to 6.1 per 100,000.

Conclusion: The time trend of an increasing AN incidence among the high risk group continued to the end of the past century. The BN incidence did not rise as was expected.