Eating disorder symptoms among female anxiety disorder patients in clinical practice: the importance of anxiety comorbidity assessment.
This exploratory study investigated the relationship between anxiety disorders, anxiety comorbidity, and eating disorder (ED) symptoms in clinical practice, and examined the naturalistic detection of ED when diagnoses were based on the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule (ADIS). Two hundred and fifty-seven female patients completed an ED questionnaire and were assessed with the ADIS. Although ED frequency did not differ among anxiety disorder diagnoses, regression analyses revealed that social phobia (SP) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) accounted for unique variance in eating pathology. Questionnaire results indicated that almost 12% of patients met criteria for a possible ED. Clinicians using the ADIS evidenced good specificity but were not sensitive to detecting ED, missing 80% of possible cases. Results support possible links between ED, social phobia and PTSD and highlight the importance of assessing anxiety comorbidity when examining the relationship between ED and anxiety disorders. Results also suggest that formal screening for ED among female anxiety patients may be warranted.
Becker
Carolyn Black
CB
Department of Psychology, Trinity University, 715 Stadium Drive, San Antonio, TX 78212-7200, USA. carolyn.becker@trinity.edu
DeViva
Jason C
JC
Zayfert
Claudia
C
D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires