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. 2023 Feb 6;20(4):2848.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph20042848.

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Eating Disorders in Military First Line of Defense against COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study during the Second Epidemic Wave in Peru

Mario J Valladares-Garrido  1   2 , Darwin A León-Figueroa  3   4 , Cinthia Karina Picón-Reátegui  4 , Abigaíl García-Vicente  5   6 , Danai Valladares-Garrido  7   8 , Virgilio E Failoc-Rojas  9 , César Johan Pereira-Victorio  10
Affiliations

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Eating Disorders in Military First Line of Defense against COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study during the Second Epidemic Wave in Peru

Mario J Valladares-Garrido et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Few studies have evaluated eating disorders in military personnel engaged in defense activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with eating disorders in military personnel from Lambayeque, Peru. A secondary data analysis was performed among 510 military personnel during the second epidemic wave of COVID-19 in Peru. We used the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) to assess eating disorders. We explored associations with insomnia, food insecurity, physical activity, resilience, fear to COVID-19, burnout syndrome, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress and selected sociodemographic variables. Eating disorders were experienced by 10.2% of participants. A higher prevalence of eating disorders was associated with having 7 to 12 months (PR: 2.97; 95% CI: 1.24-7.11) and 19 months or more (PR: 2.62; 95% CI: 1.11-6.17) working in the first line of defense against COVID-19, fear of COVID-19 (PR: 2.20; 95% CI: 1.26-3.85), burnout syndrome (PR: 3.73; 95% CI: 1.90-7.33) and post-traumatic stress (PR: 2.97; 95% CI: 1.13-7.83). A low prevalence of eating disorders was found in the military personnel. However, prevention of this problem should be focused on at-risk groups that experience mental health burdens.

Keywords: COVID-19; Peru; eating disorders; eating symptoms; military.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of responses from the Eating Attitudes Test-26.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plot of the factors associated with eating behavior in multiple regression analysis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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