Published in:
Open Access 01-12-2023 | Eating Disorder | Research
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on eating disorders risk and symptoms: a retrospective study
Published in: Italian Journal of Pediatrics | Issue 1/2023
Login to get accessAbstract
Background
Social distancing and quarantine imposed by the authority during the COVID-19 pandemic caused restrictions, which had a negative impact on eating behavior, especially among adolescents. We proposed a retrospective study aimed to evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on eating disorders risk and symptoms.
Methods
In this study, a group of 127 pediatric patients (117 females and 10 males) with eating disorders admitted to the Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital of Rome (Italy), in the period between August 2019 and April 2021, was analyzed. All patient data were collected from patients’ electronic medical records.
Results
We found that 80.3% of patients were at the onset of eating disorders and that 26% of patients had familiarity for psychotic disorders. Often these patients had comorbidities and alterations in blood parameters such as leukocytopenia, neutropenia, hypovitaminosis and hormonal problems that could affect their future.
Conclusions
Our findings could provide a framework for developing clinical and educational interventions to mitigate the short- and long-term negative impact of the pandemic on adolescent future health.