Rise in Teenage Girls with Eating Disorders and Self Harm

A research team discovered a significant increase in eating disorder diagnoses and self-harm occurrences among teenage girls in the UK in the years following the COVID-19 outbreak.

The study was published in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health by the University of Manchester, Keele University, University of Exeter, and mental health research charity The McPin Foundation.

An review of UK GP records of young individuals aged 10 to 24 years between 2010 and 2022 revealed that for females ages 13-16, eating disorders were 42% higher than expected based on past patterns, and 32% higher for those aged 17-19.

The rise in self-harm incidence was likewise greatest among females aged 13-16, with 38% more incidents than expected.

In contrast, there was no evidence of an increase in female self-harm incidence in the other age categories, and no increase in male rates of eating disorders or self-harm was identified.

The research claims that in the decade preceding the pandemic, diagnoses of eating disorders in females were more common in those from more affluent homes than in those from less affluent regions.

Following the commencement of the pandemic, this socioeconomic disparity has widened: since March 2020, eating disorder diagnoses for females living in the least deprived communities have been 52% higher than expected, compared to 22% higher for those living in the most deprived communities.

Unlike eating disorders, rates of self-harm were greater in the most poor areas before to the pandemic, but unlike eating disorders, socioeconomic disparities decreased rather than grew after March 2020.

Self-harm and eating disorders, in addition to being serious health difficulties in their own right, are coping methods that are frequently indicative of underlying psychological discomfort, and they share a number of risk factors.

Lead author Dr. Pearl Mok from the University of Manchester said, “The reasons for the increase in eating disorder diagnoses and self-harm episodes among teenage girls during the pandemic are likely to be complex and could be due to a mixture of issues such as social isolation, anxiety resulting from changing routines, disruption in education, unhealthy social media influences, and increased clinical awareness.”

“Our study is large, but episodes of self-harm that were not treated by health services were not captured in our data, so the rise in self-harm incidence might have been even greater than we observed. However, it is also possible that cases of self-harm not coming to the attention of services may have exhibited a different pattern.”

“We found that the increase in eating disorders and self-harm was greater in less deprived than in more deprived areas. This may reflect differences in service provision and challenges in accessing clinical care, rather than greater increases in risks for self-harm and eating disorders during the pandemic among those living in the least than in the most deprived communities.”

The study made use of a database of anonymised primary care electronic health information from 1881 general practices in the United Kingdom, totaling approximately 9 million individuals aged 10 to 24 years.

The researchers studied the amount of eating disorder diagnoses and self-harm documented monthly by GPs from January 2010 to March 2022, almost 10 years before and two years after the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Rates of eating disorders and self-harm incidents recorded from March 2020 to March 2022 were compared to numbers expected using data from the previous decade. Differences in the observed and expected number of cases were calculated to determine the pandemic’s possible impact on outcome incidence.

The study took shape with the support of the advisory group of young people with lived experience of mental health difficulties, parents, and caregivers.

Dr. Shruti Garg, child and adolescent psychiatrist and co-investigator from The University of Manchester said, “The staggering rise in eating disorder diagnoses and self-harm episodes among teenage females highlights an urgent need to improve early access to services and for timely intervention.

Prof Carolyn Chew-Graham, academic GP and co-investigator from Keele University said, “Early identification of mental health difficulties in children and young people by primary care clinicians is extremely important as this facilitates timely access to treatments. Sufficient support, however, from GPs and mental health services needs to be available to manage those presenting. Given the current pressures on the NHS, in both primary and specialist care, our study emphasizes the need for sufficient capacity in mental health services to meet growing demand.”

Emma Garavini, youth public involvement in research officer at the McPin Foundation and co-ordinator of the advisory group said, “We held regular meetings and communications throughout the project with the advisory group. Having the voices of young people, parents and caregivers inform the study with their insights and reflections highlights the importance and need for lived experience expertise in mental health research.”

Source Link