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. 2024 Nov 26;16(11):e74478.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.74478. eCollection 2024 Nov.

Eating Disorders in Adolescents and Young Adults: A Program Evaluation of a Canadian Eating Disorder Treatment Program

Caseita Dewar-Morgan  1 , Pria Nippak  1 , Housne Begum  1 , Shannon Remers  2   1 , Zahava Rosenberg-Yunger  1 , Julien M Meyer  1 , Alaina Nippak  1
Affiliations

Eating Disorders in Adolescents and Young Adults: A Program Evaluation of a Canadian Eating Disorder Treatment Program

Caseita Dewar-Morgan et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Background: Current treatments for adolescents with eating disorders (ED) show limited effectiveness, emphasizing the need for enhanced therapeutic approaches. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has emerged as a potential alternative. A derivative of this approach, group cognitive behavioral therapy (G-CBT), has been shown to reduce treatment costs and increase treatment accessibility when compared to CBT. This program evaluation aimed to assess the effectiveness of G-CBT in adolescents and young adults diagnosed with anorexia nervosa (AN) or bulimia nervosa (BN) and experiencing comorbid anxiety and depression within a Canadian mental health facility. The specific objectives were to determine if participants increased their knowledge about eating normalization and coping strategies after participating in the eating disorder (ED) treatment program and examine if participants experienced changes in eating-disordered behavior, anxiety, and mental health.

Methods: We conducted a program evaluation using secondary data collected at admission and discharge from 44 adolescents and young adults (16-39 years) with AN or BN participating in the ED program at a Canadian health center. Outcome measures were eating psychopathology, depression, anxiety, and illness cognitions assessed using validated tools: Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and Illness Cognition Scale (ICS).

Results: The mean age of participants was 24.1 years (standard deviation (SD) = 5.8). All outcome measures showed statistically significant improvement from admission to discharge (p < 0.001). Specifically, subscales of the EDE-Q (eating concern, weight concern, shape concern, and restraint) and the global score indicated a significant reduction in ED behaviors (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Findings suggest that G-CBT is effective in reducing eating-disordered behavior, depression, anxiety, and maladaptive illness cognitions in adolescents and young adults with EDs. These results underscore the potential of G-CBT to address both behavioral and psychological aspects of ED recovery, although further studies with control groups are warranted to confirm these findings.

Keywords: adolescents and young adults; anorexia nervosa; anxiety; bulimia nervosa; depression; eating disorders; eating psychopathology; group cognitive behavioral therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Human subjects: Consent for treatment and open access publication was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. The Toronto Metropolitan University Research Ethics Board issued approval REB 2022-294. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Participant flowchart
n: number of participants
Figure 2
Figure 2. Mean scores at admission and discharge
*p < 0.001 PHQ: Patient Health Questionnaire, GAD: General Anxiety Disorder, ICS: Illness Cognition Scale, EDE-Q: Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire
Figure 3
Figure 3. Mean scores for subscales at admission and discharge
*p < 0.001
Figure 4
Figure 4. Mean scores for subscales by age group
*p < 0.1 EDE-Q: Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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