Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36271511›Full record

ArticleThe International journal of eating disorders2023

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on referral numbers, diagnostic mix, and symptom severity in Eating Disorder Early Intervention Services in England.

Lucy Hyam, Katie L Richards, Karina L Allen, Ulrike Schmidt

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

Article in The International journal of eating disorders, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed
5.8field-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

19 citing papers in PubMed, 30 citations in OpenAlex.

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  13. Improving programme-led and focused interventions for eating disorders: An experts' consensus statement-A UK perspective.European eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association · 2023
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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

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Lucy HyamDepartment of Psychological Medicine, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-1857-2106
Katie L RichardsCentre of Implementation Science, King's College London, Health Service and Population Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-3826-6317
Karina L AllenDepartment of Psychological Medicine, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, UK and Eating Disorders Outpatient Service, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-2896-6459
Ulrike SchmidtDepartment of Psychological Medicine, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, UK and Eating Disorders Outpatient Service, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
King's College London · GB

Funding

Department of Health
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveFirst Episode Rapid Early Intervention for Eating Disorders (FREED) is a service model and care pathway which aims to provide timely, well-coordinated, developmentally informed and evidence-based care for young people with eating disorders (EDs). This article investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on FREED patient presentations and service provision in England.

methodData from three services spanning the pre- to post-pandemic period were included (January 2019-September 2021; n = 502 patients). Run charts were created to analyze changes in monthly baseline patient data (e.g., referral numbers, duration of an untreated ED, diagnostic mix, and average body mass index for patients with anorexia nervosa [AN]).

resultsSignificant increases in referral numbers were found from September 2020 onward, coinciding with the end of the first UK national lockdown. The percentage of AN presentations significantly increased after the onset of the first national lockdown (April 2020-December 2020). No other significant change patterns were identified. DISCUSSION: There have been substantial increases in referral numbers and presentations of AN to FREED services whereas illness severity seems largely unchanged. Together, this suggests that increased referrals cannot be attributed to milder presentations being seen. Implications for the implementation, funding, and sustainability of the model are discussed. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE: Our research suggests that early intervention eating disorder services across England faced significant increases in patient referrals and presentations of anorexia nervosa over the COVID-19 pandemic. This increase in referrals is not due to a rise in milder eating disorder cases, as baseline symptom severity remained stable across the pandemic. Investment in early intervention for eating disorders must therefore match increased referral trends.

Indexed as

COVID-19AdolescentCommunicable Disease ControlCOVID-19 TestingEnglandHumansPandemicsReferral and ConsultationCOVID-19early interventioneating disorder servicesfeeding and eating disordersnational health services

Identifiers

PMID36271511
PMCPMC9874422
OpenAlexW4307060729

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.