ArticleIrish journal of medical science2024
Eating disorders and COVID-19 - different or just more?
Article in Irish journal of medical science, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Changes in Hospitalization for Eating Disorders and Related Suicidal Risk, Following COVID-19 Pandemic.Depression and anxiety · 2026Article
- Effect of COVID-19 on frequency and severity of eating disorder admissions in a specialized pediatric inpatient unit.Journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- Anorexia Nervosa in Polish Children and Adolescents in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic-An Observational Single Centre Study.Nutrients · 2024Observational
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCOVID-19 saw an increase in child mental health presentations internationally. Clinicians analogised the exponential increase in anorexia nervosa to a 'tsunami' or 'outbreak', raising parallel concerns regarding medical and psychological risks (Marsh in The Guardian, 2021; Leask in NZ Herald, 2021; Monteleone et al. in Eat Weight Disord 26(8):2443-2452, 2021) . It is unclear whether Ireland emulated this picture of increased referrals with increased medical compromise.
aimsThis paper examines both rates and clinical profiles of child eating disorder presentations in the Republic of Ireland (ROI), across different clinical settings.
methodsFollowing ethical approval, retrospective chart reviews were conducted in a community eating disorder service and in two paediatric hospital settings. The time frame of the different studies ranged from January 2016 to December 2022.
resultsCommunity eating disorder services saw significantly higher referral rates post COVID-19 (3.78/month vs. 2.31/month, p = 0.02), with a shorter duration of illness (4.8 months vs. 7.4 months, p = 0.001), but no significant difference in ideal body weight % (IBW%) at referral (85.32% vs. 83.7%, p = 0.1). Both paediatric hospitals witnessed significantly increased referrals post-COVID-19 (hospital 1; 4.38/month vs. 1.93/month, p = 0.0001; hospital 2; 2.8/month vs. 0.92/month, p < 0.0001), but no significant difference in IBW% at assessment (hospital 1; 82.7% vs. 81.39%, p = 0.673; hospital 2; 81.5% vs. 83%, p = 0.563). There was no significant difference in clinical profile, management, or duration of hospital stay.
conclusionsThis study supports the growing consensus of a pandemic specific increase in eating disorder referrals to both medical and psychiatry services. However, there was little to indicate a change in clinical profile or severity. Ongoing monitoring of referrals is necessary to ensure adequate service availability and expertise.
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