title: Eating disorders as a public health issue: prevalence and attributable impairment of quality of life in an Italian community sample.
abstract: The prevalence of eating disorders (ED) in the community is still under debate, as well as the measure of their impact on the well-being of individuals. It was decided to evaluate the prevalence of eating disorders in an Italian community sample as well as to measure the burden of the quality of life of people and to compare it to those attributable to other chronic illnesses. A community survey of 4,999 people using a questionnaire on health services utilization, the Advanced Neuropsychiatric Tools and Assessment Schedule (ANTAS), a semi-structured clinical interview derived from the non-patient version of the DSM-IV (SCID/NP) and Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) was conducted. A total of 3,398 individuals were interviewed (68% of those recruited). Lifetime prevalence for overall ED was 1.7%; for anorexia 0.7%; for bulimia 0.6% and for binge eating disorder 0.5%. ED was more frequent in women than in men. No cases of anorexia in men were identified. ED showed an attributable burden in impairing quality of life with no statistically significant differences with those due to major depressive disorder, bipolar spectrum disorders and Wilson's disease. Of the pathological conditions considered, only multiple sclerosis showed a worsening attributable burden. ED thus has a non-negligible frequency in Italy, with severe impact on quality of life comparable to that produced by severe chronic psychiatric and general medical conditions. These elements emphasize that ED is a serious public health issue.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Clinical and Molecular Medicine, University of Cagliari , Italy.
authors.forename: Mauro Giovanni
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Carta
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Preti
authors.forename: Maria Francesca
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Moro
authors.forename: Eugenio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aguglia
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Balestrieri
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Caraci
authors.forename: Liliana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dell'Osso
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Di Sciascio
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Drago
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Faravelli
authors.forename: Maria Carolina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Hardoy
authors.forename: Ernesto
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: D'Aloja
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cossu
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Calò
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Palumbo
authors.forename: Dinesh
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bhugra
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011634:Public Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult