Prevalence and correlates of a positive screen for eating disorders among Syrian refugees

Abstract

The objective of this cross-sectional study was to examine the prevalence and correlates of a positive screen for eating disorders (EDs) in a sample of Syrian refugees living in North Lebanon. The study was conducted on a convenience sample of 450 (84.67% women and 15.33% men) refugees, aged between 18 and 45 years. The prevalence of a positive screen for ED was 5.79%. Bivariate analyses revealed that female gender (p = 0.02), presence of medical conditions (p = 0.01), old occurrence of major stressful life event (p < 0.01), and positive primary care post-traumatic stress disorder screen (p < 0.01) were associated with the positive sick, control, one stone, fat, food tool. Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that subjects screened with post-traumatic stress disorder had a three times higher risk of having a positive screen for ED (odds ratio = 3.2; 95% confidence interval [1.32, 7.78]). Early detection of ED and related factors may help identify refugees who would benefit from interventions to improve mental health.

Keywords: correlates; eating disorders; post-traumatic stress disorder; refugees; screening.