[The prevalence of eating disorders and comorbid psychiatric disorders in the Sivas Province].

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of eating disorders (EDs) in the Sivas province, and to identify the sociodemographic characteristics and co-morbid axis-I and axis-II diagnoses in EDs.

METHOD

1122 people between 18-44 years of age were enrolled in the study after completing the eating attitude test (EAT), and people who had points around the cut-off score had clinical interviews. The control group included subjects that were age- and sex-matched with the ED group, were not diagnosed with an ED, and had an EAT score <30. In order to determine the following as axis I or axis II, SCID-I (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis-I Disorders) and SCID-II (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R Personality Disorders) were performed on both the eating disorder and control groups.

RESULTS

As a result of the scanning done with EAT, we observed that 5.25% of this population might have an eating behavior disorder. The prevalence of the eating disorders was found to be 1.52% by the structured clinical interview in the second step of the study. While the prevalence of bulimia nervosa was determined to be 0.63%, that of binge eating disorder was 0.81%. The diagnosis of ED is common and statistically significant among women (88.2%). According to the study, persons diagnosed with ED were more likely to have a moderate income as compared with those who were not diagnosed with an ED. Also, people with ED had been exposed to more traumas, and it was more likely that someone in their family had a psychiatric diagnosis. Among the patient group, the axis I and axis II co-morbidity rates were significantly higher than those of the control group. 47% (8/17) of the patients were determined to have a co-morbid axis I diagnosis. The most frequently diagnosed co-morbidity was major depressive disorder. 41% of the patients were determined to have an axis II diagnosis. The most common rate of diagnosis was 11.8% for both obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and avoidant personality disorder.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study show that the point prevalence rate for EDs among all the participants was 1.52%, with binge eating disorder being the most prevalent ED. Psychiatric co-morbidity is common in patients with eating disorders. An ED is a disease that can be seen in different age groups and socioeconomic levels. Studies with larger samples, including different regions of the country and different age groups, and with diagnoses that have been confirmed by clinical interviews, are required.