Eating disorders spiked during first year of pandemic, study shows

The number of teens and young adults seeking treatment for eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia went up during the first year of the pandemic, new research shows.  

A study published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics looked at the new patients seeking inpatient and outpatient treatments at 15 eating disorder centers across the country between 2018 and 2021.

Out of those sites, 14 were located in a hospital while one was a non-hospital-based eating disorder program.  

The study found that there was a “significant” pandemic-related increase in the number of people getting both inpatient and outpatient treatments for eating disorders, especially during 2020.

Researchers found that there were 81 admissions to those centers in January 2018 and 109 in February 2020, representing a 34 percent increase in the number of people seeking treatment for disordered eating.  

The study also shows that while there was a sudden decline in eating disorder treatment admissions in April 2020, the number of adolescent and young adult admissions for eating disorder treatment increased each month after that through April 2021.  

By December 2020, there were 163 adolescents and young adults admitted to one of the 15 sites used in the study, and admissions eventually peaked at 208 in April 2021.  

Other research has found that the pandemic impacted the mental health of adolescents and young adults across the globe. Research also has already shown that the stress of the pandemic has exacerbated symptoms of those suffering from eating disorders.  

“While there was some site-to-site variation, overall, the volume of ED-related admissions and outpatient assessments declined immediately following the implementation of pandemic-related restrictions, which is not overall surprising,” the study authors wrote in their research.  

In the study, researchers note that there are a number of changes that took place during the pandemic that could have triggered symptoms in those battling eating disorders. These include changes in routines, inconsistent access to food, feelings of uncertainty about the future, more time spent in triggering environments due to lockdowns and changes in access to treatment.