title: Obesity and eating disturbances are common in 15-year-old adolescents. A two-step interview study.
abstract: A two-step interview study of eating disorders (EDs) and sub-clinical EDs in 15-year-old adolescents was carried out in western Finland. The sample consisted of all ninth graders in a well-defined catchment area (n=606, 98.2% of eligible students). In the first step, a self-report questionnaire was administered at schools regarding mental health problems and life circumstances. The questions concerning anorectic and bulimic eating pathology were formulated according to the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria of EDs. The second step consisted of a semi-structured interview Rating of Anorexia and Bulimia-Teenager version (RAB-T) to which 128 subjects were invited, on the basis of their answers to questions about eating pathology in the questionnaire. The participation rate in the interview was 88.3%. The lifetime prevalence rate for anorexia nervosa (AN) in 15-year-old girls was 1.8% and the point prevalence rate 0.7%. No cases of AN were found among the boys. All criteria fulfilling cases of bulimia nervosa (BN) were not found in our sample. High rates of AN not otherwise specified (AN-NOS; 4.9%) and sub-clinical EDs (4.9%) were found among the girls; 6.7% of girls and 0.6% of boys were regarded as being "at risk" of developing EDs. Data on height and weight are based on current measurements taken at school healthcare; 22% of boys were overweight or obese compared with 16% of girls.
authors.affiliation: Malmska Municipal Health Care Center and Hospital, PB 111, 68601 Jakobstad, Finland. anna-lisa.isomaa@mhso.fi
authors.forename: Anna-Lisa
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Isomaa
authors.forename: Rasmus
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Isomaa
authors.forename: Mauri
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marttunen
authors.forename: Riittakerttu
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kaltiala-Heino
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D052018:Bulimia Nervosa / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires