Anorexia nervosa and the COVID-19 pandemic among young people: a scoping review

Journal of Eating Disorders

Review

Margie R. Skeer¹  Misha Eliasziw¹  Anna C. Schlissel¹  Tracy K. Richmond²  Kristin Leonberg³ 

[1] Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, 02111, Boston, MA, USA;Division of Adolescent Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, 6th Floor, 333 Longwood Avenue, 02115, Boston, MA, USA;Harvard Medical School, Pediatrics, 25 Shattuck Street, 02115, Boston, MA, USA;Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Jaharis Family Center for Biomedical and Nutrition Sciences, Tufts University, 150 Harrison Avenue, 02111, Boston, MA, USA;

关键词: Anorexia nervosa;    COVID-19;    Adolescents;    Young adults;    Restrictive eating disorders;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40337-023-00843-7

 received in 2022-12-09, accepted in 2023-07-07,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe extent to which the recent global COVID-19 Pandemic has impacted young people with restrictive eating disorders [i.e., anorexia nervosa (AN) and atypical anorexia nervosa (AAN)] is unclear. We conducted a scoping review of the literature to identify how the pandemic has impacted this population and to identify gaps in the current literature to inform future research efforts.Main bodyWe searched PubMed, EMBASE, the Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, PsycInfo, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, LitCovid, Google Scholar, and relevant agency websites from 2019 to 2022. We included studies that focused on young people with AN/AAN globally. Of the 916 unduplicated articles screened, 17 articles met the inclusion criteria, reporting on 17 unique studies including 4,379 individuals. Three key findings were identified. First, an increase in hospitalizations related to eating disorders was found during COVID-19 among young people with AN and AAN. Multiple studies cited increased medical instability, even though the overall duration of disease was shorter compared to pre-pandemic levels. Second, changes in eating disorder-related symptomology during the pandemic were reported in this population, as well as poorer overall behavioral and mental health. Suggested reasons behind changes included boredom or minimal distraction from pathological thoughts, increased social isolation, increased social media and online use (e.g., reading blogs or watching YouTube), gym and school closures, changes in routines due to lockdowns and quarantines, and worries over gaining the “Quarantine 15”. Third, there was an increase in the use of telemedicine as a treatment modality for the treatment of AN. Challenges were reported by both clinicians and patients regardless of past experience using telemedicine. When compared to no treatment, telemedicine was recognized as the best option during COVID-19 lockdowns; however some individuals expressed the preference for in-person treatment and planned to return to it once it became available.ConclusionThe pandemic significantly impacted young people with restrictive eating disorders as seen by increased hospitalizations and requests for outpatient care. A primary driver of the changes in eating disorder symptomatology may be lockdowns and quarantines. Further research investigating how the series of lockdowns and re-openings impacted individuals with AN/AAN is warranted.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

【 图 表 】

Fig. 1