Detección de adolescentes en riesgo de presentar trastornos de la alimentación

Abstract

Objectives. To analyse which risk factors are related to eating disorders and to identify useful questions for their early detection in primary care. Design. Observational, cross-sectional study. Setting. Six secondary schools in Leganés, Madrid, Spain. Participants. Adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years old attending secondary school. Main measurements. Risk of suffering an eating disorder (Eating Attitudes Test-26) and questions about weight, height, family, attitudes towards body image, use of health services for eating disorders, and mental illness history. Results. An 8.8% of the adolescents were at risk of developing an eating disorder (4.6% male; 11.8% female). Age in males (OR=0.76) and 24-hour fasting to lose weight (OR for males =7.44; OR for females =3.09) were associated with the risk of eating disorders. Early menarche (OR=1.69), having dieted for social or environmental reasons, and self-induced vomiting (OR=5.71) were associated with eating disorders in women. The specificity and negative predictive value of asking about self-induced vomiting and 24-hour fasting in order to detect an eating disorder were around 95%. Conclusions. Age is a protective factor for eating disorders, especially in males. In women, early menarche is a risk factor. Asking about self-induced vomiting and 24-hour fasting enables eating disorders in women to be ruled out.