Eating disorders in female inpatients with versus without substance use disorders

Abstract

This study assessed the relationship between substance use disorders and eating disorders in female psychiatric inpatients. Structured diagnostic interviews were reliably administered to a series of inpatients with substance use disorders (n = 67) and a comparison sample without substance use disorders (n = 69). Eating disorder diagnoses as a whole, including eating disorder not otherwise specified, were distributed significantly more frequently among subjects with substance use disorders than among psychiatric controls. Frequencies of the specific diagnoses of bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa, however, did not differ significantly between groups. The results suggest that eating disorder features may be overrepresented among female inpatients with substance use disorders.