Eating Disorders in the Workplace

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Although eating disorders (EDs) affect a large portion of the population and have a significant impact on health and productivity, they are understudied in the workplace. We assessed the frequency of EDs and studied the relationship between EDs and occupational and individual factors. Methods: All workers undergoing health surveillance were invited to fill in the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire, short form (EDE-QS) and, before their routine medical examination that included metabolic tests, measure their level of health literacy, stress, quality of sleep, anxiety, depression, and happiness. Out of a total of 2085 workers, 1912 (91.7%) participated. Results: Suspected EDs affected 4.9% (CI95% 3.9; 5.9) of workers, with no notable difference in gender (5.3% CI95% 4.1; 6.7 in female workers vs. 4.2%, CI95% 2.9; 5.9 in male). Cases were significantly associated with trauma and emotional factors (anxiety, depression, unhappiness), but also with work-related stress and poor sleep quality, and negatively associated with health literacy. Using a hierarchical logistic regression model, suspected cases of EDs were significantly predicted in Model II by life trauma (OR 2.21 CI95% 1.40; 3.48, p < 0.001) and health literacy (OR 0.94 CI95% 0.90; 0.98, p < 0.001), in Model III also by work-related stress (OR 2.57 CI95% 1.68; 3.94, p < 0.001), and in Model IV by depression (OR 1.19 CI95% 1.02; 1.38, p < 0.05) and happiness (OR 0.88 CI95% 0.78; 0.99, p < 0.05). An association was also found between EDs and overweight, obesity, increased abdominal circumference, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, hyperglycemia, arterial hypertension, atherogenic index of plasma, and metabolic syndrome. Conclusions: The workplace is an ideal setting for the prevention of EDs and their consequences. Occupational health intervention should promote health literacy, improve sleep quality, and reduce work-related stress.