Borsarini Bianca, Pappaianni Edoardo, Micali Nadia
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Center for Eating and feeding Disorders Research (CEDaR), Psychiatric Centre Ballerup, Mental Health Services in the Capital Region of Denmark, Maglevænget 32, 2750, Ballerup, Denmark.
J Eat Disord. 2023 May 10;11(1):71. doi: 10.1186/s40337-023-00792-1.
Negative effects of COVID-19 lockdowns have been reported in adult patients with feeding and eating disorders (FED) whereas evidence of its impact on young clinical populations is still limited and somewhat inconsistent. The present study aims to investigate the effect of the first COVID-19 lockdown on a range of FED symptoms in children and adolescents: (a) already receiving treatment in our specialist service for FED when the pandemic hit, and (b) prospectively evaluated in our service from October 2020 to July 2021.
Out of sixty-one eligible patients with a broad spectrum of FED invited, forty-five young patients (aged 11-18) consented to participate and were included. An ad-hoc survey, consisting of open questions, multiple choice questions, yes/no questions, and a symptoms checklist, was administered online.
About half of the participants (46.7%) reported a positive effect of lockdown on FED symptomatology. Patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) reported the highest rate of symptomatology worsening (58.6%). Younger patients (11-13 years) showed a greater improvement of symptoms compared to older ones (14-18 years of age). COVID-19 lockdown was identified as the precipitating factor for FED onset in 60.7% of newly evaluated patients.
Evidence from our investigation points out that although the COVID-19 pandemic was a precipitating factor for a FED for many active and newly referred patients, it had a positive impact on youth who were already in treatment and younger participants.
已有报道称，新冠疫情封锁措施对患有进食和饮食障碍（FED）的成年患者产生了负面影响，而其对年轻临床群体影响的证据仍然有限且有些不一致。本研究旨在调查首次新冠疫情封锁措施对儿童和青少年一系列FED症状的影响：（a）疫情爆发时已在我们的专科服务机构接受FED治疗的患者，以及（b）2020年10月至2021年7月在我们的服务机构接受前瞻性评估的患者。
在邀请的61名符合条件的患有广泛FED的患者中，45名年轻患者（11 - 18岁）同意参与并被纳入研究。通过在线方式进行了一项专门调查，该调查包括开放式问题、多项选择题、是非题和症状清单。
约一半的参与者（46.7%）报告称封锁措施对FED症状有积极影响。神经性厌食症（AN）患者报告症状恶化的比例最高（58.6%）。与年龄较大的患者（14 - 18岁）相比，年龄较小的患者（11 - 13岁）症状改善更明显。在60.7%新评估的患者中，新冠疫情封锁被确定为FED发病的诱发因素。
我们的调查证据指出，尽管新冠疫情对许多正在接受治疗和新转诊的患者来说是FED的诱发因素，但它对已经在接受治疗的年轻人和年龄较小的参与者有积极影响。
