Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 May 28;3(5):e002646.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2013-002646.

The incidence of eating disorders in the UK in 2000-2009: findings from the General Practice Research Database

Nadia Micali  1 , Katrina W Hagberg, Irene Petersen, Janet L Treasure
Affiliations

The incidence of eating disorders in the UK in 2000-2009: findings from the General Practice Research Database

Nadia Micali et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objectives: Few studies have investigated the incidence of eating disorders (EDs). Important questions about changes in the incidence of diagnosed disorders in recent years, disorder and gender-specific onset and case detection remain unanswered. Understanding changes in incidence is important for public health, clinical practice and service provision. The aim of this study was to estimate the annual (age-specific, gender-specific and subtype-specific) incidence of diagnosed ED: anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN) and eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS) in primary care over a 10-year period in the UK (2000-2009); to examine the changes within the study period; and to describe peak age at diagnosis.

Design: Register-based study.

Setting: Primary care. Data were obtained from a primary care register, the General Practice Research Database, which contains anonymised records representing about 5% of the UK population.

Participants: All patients with a first-time diagnosis of AN, BN and EDNOS were identified.

Primary outcome: Annual crude and age-standardised incidence rates were calculated.

Results: A total of 9072 patients with a first-time diagnosis of an ED were identified. The age-standardised annual incidence rate of all diagnosed ED for ages 10-49 increased from 32.3 (95% CI 31.7 to 32.9) to 37.2 (95% CI 36.6 to 37.9) per 100 000 between 2000 and 2009. The incidence of AN and BN was stable; however, the incidence of EDNOS increased. The incidence of the diagnosed ED was highest for girls aged 15-19 and for boys aged 10-14.

Conclusions: The age-standardised incidence of ED increased in primary care between 2000 and 2009. New diagnoses of EDNOS increased, and EDNOS is the most common ED in primary care.

Keywords: Epidemiology; Primary care.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Incidence rates and 95% CIs of anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS) by year for females aged 10-49 years.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Incidence rates and 95% CIs of anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS) by year for males aged 10-49 years.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Incidence of disorders in the community and in the healthcare setting.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Arcelus J, Mitchell AJ, Wales J, et al. Mortality rates in patients with anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders: a meta analysis of 36 studies. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2011;68:724–31 - PubMed
    1. Field AE, Sonnenville K, Micali N, et al. Common eating disorders predictive of adverse outcomes are missed by the DSM-IV and DSM-5 classifications. Pediatrics 2012;130:e289–95 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Currin L, Schmidt U, Treasure J, et al. Time trends in eating disorder incidence. Br J Psychiatry 2005;186:132–5 - PubMed
    1. Van Son GE, Van Hoeken D, Bartelds AI, et al. Time trends in the incidence of eating disorders: a primary care study in the Netherlands. Int J Eat Disord 2006;39:565–9 - PubMed
    1. Keski-Rahkonen A, Hoek HW, Susser ES, et al. Epidemiology and course of anorexia nervosa in the community. Am J Psychiatry 2007;164:1259–65 - PubMed