“This real-world data shows several treatments outside of international guidelines are helpful for eating disorders. Our findings could also inform patient services, like using an active wait list where patients receive information about eating disorders and eating disorder programs, as we do at The Ottawa Hospital” -Dr. Marco SolmiEating disorders are severe mental health conditions where altered eating behavior harms the body and impairs social and cognitive functions. Dr. Marco Solmi led the most extensive study to date on eating disorder outcomes.
Published in World Psychiatry, this systematic review and meta-analysis of 415 cohort studies and clinical trials published between 1980 and 2021 included 88,372 people with eating disorders from around the world, followed up for an average of 38.3±76.5 months.
They found that 46% of patients had recovered, 25% lived with a chronic disorder, and 0.4% had died (high considering the average age in the study was 26). Outcomes improved with longer follow-up, and after 10 years, 67% of patients recovered, while 18% still had chronic disease.
Children and youth were more likely to recover than adults. Twenty-six percent of patients were hospitalized, and 26% of all patients had a relapse after recovery. Being on a wait list without active monitoring or training on how to cope with the eating disorder was associated with higher mortality.
The authors noted which treatments, such as family-based therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, other psychotherapy, nutritional and pharmacological interventions, were linked to better outcomes for each type of eating disorder.
“This real-world data shows several treatments outside of international guidelines are helpful for eating disorders. Our findings could also inform patient services, like using an active wait list where patients receive information about eating disorders and eating disorder programs, as we do at The Ottawa Hospital,” said Dr. Marco Solmi, Medical Director of the Regional Eating Disorder Program at The Ottawa Hospital, Director of research at the University of Ottawa, Psychiatry Department.
Authors: Marco Solmi, Francesco Monaco, Mikkel Højlund, Alessio M. Monteleone, Mike Trott, Joseph Firth, Marco Carfagno, Melissa Eaton, Marco De Toffol, Mariantonietta Vergine
Funders: This study received no designated funding. All research at The Ottawa Hospital is supported by The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.
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