Jarvers Irina, Ecker Angelika, Schleicher Daniel, Kandsperger Stephanie, Otto Alexandra, Brunner Romuald
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Regensburg, Universitaetsstraße 84, 93053, Regensburg, Germany.
J Eat Disord. 2023 Oct 12;11(1):180. doi: 10.1186/s40337-023-00905-w.
In the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, a steady increase in adolescent anorexia nervosa admissions has been observed. Contributing factors may have been uncontrollable changes in school attendance due to lockdowns and social restrictions. However, patients' reports on the impact of these factors have not been assessed in detail as of yet. Furthermore, alexithymia, the difficulty to identify and describe one's own emotions, has increased during the pandemic and is known to be heightened in eating disorders. Thus, it may have contributed to symptom severity in anorexia nervosa during the pandemic.
The present study examined pandemic-related changes in social media use, body satisfaction, and perceived loss of control and their impact on depressive, anxious, and eating disorder symptomatology in a sample of adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa (n = 29) and healthy controls (n = 23). Additionally, the influence of current alexithymia as a cross-diagnostic risk factor was assessed. Adolescents answered questionnaires once shortly after admission to inpatient, outpatient, or daycare treatment.
An increase in perceived loss of control during the pandemic and heightened alexithymia explained a significant portion of variance in present depressive symptomatology, which in turn contributed to eating disorder symptomatology.
These relationships emphasize alexithymia and perceived loss of control as valuable constructs for early screenings and interventions.
在新冠疫情期间，青少年神经性厌食症的入院人数持续增加。促成因素可能是由于封锁和社会限制导致学校出勤情况发生了无法控制的变化。然而，截至目前，尚未详细评估患者关于这些因素影响的报告。此外，述情障碍，即难以识别和描述自己的情绪，在疫情期间有所增加，并且已知在饮食失调中更为严重。因此，它可能导致了疫情期间神经性厌食症症状的严重程度增加。
本研究调查了患有神经性厌食症的青少年女孩样本（n = 29）和健康对照组（n = 23）在社交媒体使用、身体满意度和感知到的失控方面与疫情相关的变化，以及它们对抑郁、焦虑和饮食失调症状的影响。此外，还评估了当前述情障碍作为一种跨诊断风险因素的影响。青少年在入院接受住院、门诊或日间治疗后不久填写了问卷。
疫情期间感知到的失控增加和述情障碍加剧解释了当前抑郁症状中很大一部分变异，而抑郁症状又反过来导致了饮食失调症状。
这些关系强调述情障碍和感知到的失控是早期筛查和干预中有价值的指标。
