Dataset Information

Examining the prevalence of disordered eating in a cohort of young Australians presenting for mental health care at a headspace centre: results from a cross-sectional clinical survey study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of disordered eating in young people attending a headspace centre, an enhanced primary care centre providing early intervention services for mental health disorders for young people aged 12-25 years, in metropolitan Sydney.

Design

Cross-sectional assessment of disordered eating symptoms and behaviours.

Setting

An enhanced primary care youth mental health service in inner urban Sydney, Australia.

Participants

A sequential cohort of 530 young people aged 14-26 years presenting to headspace Camperdown for support with mental health concerns.

Outcome measures

Participants completed a series of questionnaires online which included items assessing the presence of eating disorder symptoms and behaviours.

Results

Over one-third of young people aged 14-26 years presenting to headspace Camperdown in a 22-month period reported symptoms of disordered eating. Of these, 32% endorsed overeating behaviours, 25% endorsed dietary restriction and 8% reported purging behaviours. In total, 44% reported engaging in one of more of these behaviours on a regular basis. Almost half reported experiencing significant shape and weight concerns. Eating disorder behaviours were particularly prevalent among female and gender-diverse participants (48% of females and 46% of gender-diverse participants compared with 35% of males) and overall scores across all of the eating disorder and body image items assessed were significantly higher for female participants compared with males.

Conclusions

Disordered eating behaviours and symptoms are common among those presenting to youth mental health primary care services. Proactive screening for these behaviours presents opportunities for early detection and specific interventions.

Trial registration number

ACTRN12618001676202; Results.

SUBMITTER: Burton AL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9379483 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Examining the prevalence of disordered eating in a cohort of young Australians presenting for mental health care at a headspace centre: results from a cross-sectional clinical survey study.

Burton Amy Leigh AL Hamilton Blake B Iorfino Frank F La Monica Haley M HM Scott Elizabeth M EM Hickie Ian B IB

BMJ open 20220810 8

<h4>Objectives</h4>The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of disordered eating in young people attending a headspace centre, an enhanced primary care centre providing early intervention services for mental health disorders for young people aged 12-25 years, in metropolitan Sydney.<h4>Design</h4>Cross-sectional assessment of disordered eating symptoms and behaviours.<h4>Setting</h4>An enhanced primary care youth mental health service in inner urban Sydney, Australia.<h4>Participant ...[more]

PMID: 35948386

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Project description:PurposeThe Brain and Mind Centre (BMC) Optymise cohort assesses multiple clinical and functional domains longitudinally in young people presenting for mental health care and treatment. Longitudinal tracking of this cohort will allow investigation of the relationships between multiple outcome domains across the course of care. Subsets of Optymise have completed detailed neuropsychological and neurobiological assessments, permitting investigation of associations between these measures and longitudinal course.ParticipantsYoung people (aged 12-30) presenting to clinics coordinated by the BMC were recruited to a research register (n=6743) progressively between June 2008 and July 2018. To date, 2767 individuals have been included in Optymise based on the availability of at least one detailed clinical assessment.MeasuresTrained researchers use a clinical research proforma to extract key data from clinical files to detail social and occupational functioning, clinical presentation, self-harm and suicidal thoughts and behaviours, alcohol and other substance use, physical health comorbidities, personal and family history of mental illness, and treatment utilisation at the following time points: baseline, 3, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 months, and time last seen.Findings to dateThere is moderate to substantial agreement between raters for data collected via the proforma. While wide variations in individual illness course are clear, social and occupational outcomes suggest that the majority of cohort members show no improvement in functioning over time. Differential rates of longitudinal transition are reported between early and late stages of illness, with a number of baseline factors associated with these transitions. Furthermore, there are longitudinal associations between prior suicide attempts and inferior clinical and functional outcomes.Future plansFuture reports will detail the longitudinal course of each outcome domain and examine multidirectional relationships between these domains both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, and explore in subsets the associations between detailed neurobiological measures and clinical, social and functional outcomes.

Project description:This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the associations between body appreciation, body functionality and disordered eating in a large adolescent sample of different levels and types of sports practice. METHOD:The sample consisted of 1412 adolescents (59.8% were girls). The ages ranged from 15 to 18 years old, with a mean age of 16.9 (SD = 0.5) for girls and 17.0 (SD = 0.4) for boys. Participants completed an anonymous questionnaire assessing the nature of sports participation, body appreciation, body functionality, self-esteem, body dissatisfaction, internalisation of sociocultural beauty ideals and disordered eating. A two-way ANOVA was employed to test the differences in body image concerns, body appreciation, perceived physical fitness and disordered eating behaviours in gender groups and groups of different sport types and levels. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to predict disordered eating behaviours of different study variables. RESULTS:Participants of leisure and competitive sports reported greater body appreciation, self-esteem and lower body dissatisfaction compared to non-participants. No differences in body appreciation and disordered eating were observed in adolescents involved in weight-sensitive and less weight-sensitive sports. Body appreciation and body functionality were associated with lower disordered eating in adolescent girls not participating in sports, leisure exercisers and participants of competitive sport as well as in boys participating in competitive sports, controlling for body mass index. Adolescent boys demonstrated greater body appreciation compared to girls. CONCLUSIONS:The results of this study support the knowledge of the protective role of positive body image preventing dysfunctional eating in adolescent girls of various sports practice and in competitive sports involved boys. Disordered eating prevention and clinical treatment programs for adolescents of different physical activity might benefit from including education about body appreciation and functionality.

Dataset Information

Examining the prevalence of disordered eating in a cohort of young Australians presenting for mental health care at a headspace centre: results from a cross-sectional clinical survey study.

Objectives

Design

Setting

Participants

Outcome measures

Results

Conclusions

Trial registration number

Publications

Examining the prevalence of disordered eating in a cohort of young Australians presenting for mental health care at a headspace centre: results from a cross-sectional clinical survey study.

Similar Datasets

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