ArticleThe International journal of eating disorders2025
Mental Health After COVID-19 Death-Related Loss in Individuals With Eating Disorders: A Multi-Country Nested Matched Case-Control Study.
Article in The International journal of eating disorders, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThe COVID-19 pandemic caused millions of deaths worldwide and significantly impacted people with eating disorders, exacerbating symptoms and limiting access to care. This study examined the association between COVID-19 death-related loss-defined as the death of a family member, friend, or acquaintance due to COVID-19-and mental health among people with preexisting eating disorders in the United States (US), the Netherlands, and Sweden.
methodParticipants with a history of eating disorders completed a baseline survey early in the pandemic (US: N = 511; Netherlands: N = 510; Sweden: N = 982) and monthly (US, the Netherlands) or biannual (Sweden) follow-ups from April 2020 to May 2021. The surveys assessed pandemic impact on eating disorder-related behaviors and concerns, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, and COVID-19-related deaths. A matched nested case-control design was used to compare individuals experiencing a death-related loss with matched controls.
resultsA substantial proportion experienced a COVID-19 death-related loss (US: 33%; Netherlands: 39%; Sweden: 17%). No significant differences were found between cases and controls on eating disorder, anxiety, depression, or sleep outcomes. DISCUSSION: Despite the expected influence of COVID-19 death-related loss on mental health, our study found no significant association. Reactions to pandemics may be highly individual, and practitioners may want to consider broader losses-such as bereavement, missed educational experiences, relationship disruptions, financial instability, and employment challenges-when addressing patients' needs. Future research should continue to explore how death-related loss impacts eating disorder risk and progression.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.