Anorexia nervosa and bulimia: a prevalence study
- 1 December 1992
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica
- Vol. 86 (6), 432-436
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.1992.tb03293.x
Abstract
We determined the prevalence of anorexia nervosa and bulimia in a large sample of students attending a secondary school on the island of São Miguel (Azores) using the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents, which enabled us to collect the information necessary to make DSM-III diagnoses. Although the prevalence of anorectic and bulimic behaviour was rather high, the partial syndrome of anorexia nervosa was found in only 0.48% of the students (0.76% for girls and 0.17% for boys) and the syndrome of bulimia in only 0.16% (0.30% of the girls; there were no boys with bulimia). The overall prevalence of eating disorders, including partial syndromes, was rather low (0.64%). These results stand in sharp contrast to reports that eating disorders are common and probably getting more common. The low prevalence found in the present survey is probably due to the absence of sociocultural pressures to control eating and weight.Keywords
This publication has 29 references indexed in Scilit:
- The struggle to be thin: a survey of anorexic and bulimic symptoms in a non-referred adolescent populationPsychological Medicine, 1989
- Prevalence and incidence of eating disorders in a suburban areaActa Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 1988
- The increasing prevalence of bulimia in freshman college studentsInternational Journal of Eating Disorders, 1986
- Toward an understanding of risk factors for bulimia.American Psychologist, 1986
- Toward an understanding of risk factors for bulimia.American Psychologist, 1986
- Anorexia Nervosa: Is Prevention Possible?The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 1985
- Eating Attitudes and Neurotic Symptoms in University StudentsThe British Journal of Psychiatry, 1983
- Development of a structured psychiatric Interview for children: Agreement on diagnosis comparing child and parent interviewsJournal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 1982
- Development of a structured psychiatric interview for children: Agreement between child and parent on individual symptomsJournal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 1982
- Are children reliable reporters?Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 1975