A two-stage epidemiologic study on prevalence of eating disorders in female university students in Mexico.
OBJECTIVE
This study investigated the prevalence of eating disorders (ED) in women.


METHODS
Two samples of university students (1995, n = 522; 2002, n = 880) completed the Eating Attitudes Test and the Bulimia Test (BULIT; Stage 1). During Stage 2, the women that exceeded the cut-off point of one or both questionnaires and a random sample of women that did not exceed the cut-off point were interviewed.


RESULTS
The results showed a prevalence rate of 0.49% for ED in 1995 (0.14% for bulimia nervosa [BN] and 0.35% for EDs not otherwise specified [EDNOS]) and a prevalence rate of ED of 1.15% in 2002 (0.24% for BN and 0.91% for EDNOS). Anorexia nervosa was not found in either of the evaluated periods. Nevertheless, the results must be taken with reservation since there was a high rate of loss to follow-up (second stage).


CONCLUSIONS
The data of this study support the findings of other studies, including studies with Spanish-speaking samples, that EDNOS is the most common ED followed by BN and AN.
Mancilla-Diaz
Juan Manuel
JM
Eating Disorders Laboratory, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, FES-Iztacala, México. jmmd@servidor.unam.mx
Franco-Paredes
Karina
K
Vazquez-Arevalo
Rosalia
R
Lopez-Aguilar
Xochitl
X
Alvarez-Rayon
Georgina L
GL
Tellez-Giron
Ma Trinidad O
MT
D000328:Adult; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000453:epidemiology*; D052018:Bulimia Nervosa / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014495:Universities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*