Sunday, September 19, 2021

DAY 19 - Eating Disorders and Suicide

 


A reminder to be kind to all people. And if you are aware or suspect that someone has an eating disorder, please make an extra effort. Most people aren't aware of the amount of self hatred that goes hand in hand with an eating disorder. Those who suffer from these disorders are always in need of compassion. 

U.S. adults with a lifetime history of an eating disorder—anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge eating disorder—are at increased risk of having a suicide attempt history.

Using data from a nationally representative sample of more than 36,000 respondents, researchers looked at the lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts in adults with an eating disorder history. They found that the prevalence of suicide attempts was 24.9% among those with a history of anorexia. Levels of suicide risk were different for each of the two anorexia subtypes. The prevalence of suicide attempts associated with the binge/purge subtype was much higher than the restricting subtype (44.1% and 15.7% respectively).

The researchers also found that 31.4% of those with a history of bulimia and 22.9% of those with a history of binge eating disorder had attempted suicide in their lifetime. After adjusting for sociodemographic variables, individuals with any type of eating disorder history were more likely to have a greater number of suicide attempts compared to those without an eating disorder history.


Source: https://www.sprc.org/news/suicide-attempts-eating-disorders