Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35979631›Full record

ArticleThe International journal of eating disorders2022

Early-onset eating disorders in Australian children: A national surveillance study showing increased incidence.

Anne Morris, Elizabeth Elliott, Sloane Madden

Open access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The International journal of eating disorders, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
18citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
5.9field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 37 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. The Importance of Considering Personal Recovery for Eating Disorders.European eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Anne MorrisThe Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-0419-0529
Elizabeth ElliottFaculty of Medicine and Health, Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health and Paediatrician, The Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Sloane MaddenThe Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia.
The University of Sydney · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThe aim of this study was to collect prospective national data on early-onset eating disorders (EOEDs) in children in Australia to document changes in clinical presentations, medical complications, management, and incidence since initially described in 2002-2005.

methodEach month pediatricians reported children aged 5-13 years newly diagnosed with an eating disorder to the Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit and provided de-identified clinical data.

resultsBetween 2016 and 2018, 184 children were confirmed with EOED with a minimum estimated national incidence of 2.79 per 100,000 children aged 5-13 years (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.40-3.23), nearly double the previously recorded incidence. The mean age at diagnosis was 12.2 years; 43(24%) were boys who were younger than girls (11.85 vs. 12.33 years; p = .03). All had food avoidance. Common symptoms included fear of weight gain 140 (76%), preoccupation with body weight 134 (73%), and misperception of body size 116 (63%). Bradycardia was present in 83 (45%) and 117 (64%) who required hospital admission. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5) criteria for anorexia nervosa were met for 144 (78%). DISCUSSION: Children with eating disorders continue to present with severe illness. Near doubling in incidence in just over a 10-year period highlights the need for increased clinical resourcing and comparable international data. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE: The incidence of new presentations of eating disorders in children aged 5-13 years has nearly doubled since a similar study was conducted over 10 years ago. Children were unwell for an average of 8 months before diagnosis; approximately 80% had a clear diagnosis of anorexia nervosa and 64% needed hospital admission due to medical complications. This highlights the need for improvements in education and clinical resources for this age group.

Indexed as

Feeding and Eating DisordersWeight GainAustraliaChildHumansProspective Studiesanorexia nervosachildrenearly-onseteating disorderspediatric surveillance

Identifiers

PMID35979631
PMCPMC10946971
OpenAlexW4293824834

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.