Knowledge Builders

what is the mortality rate of bulimia nervosa

by Zita Runolfsson Published 1 year ago Updated 1 year ago
image

A review of some of the statistics related to bulimia can provide helpful, concise insight into the many risks associated with this disorder. One research study reviewed the cause of death across death certificates in the US for the study's given time window and found a mortality rate of 3.9 percent for bulimia.Feb 23, 2022

Full Answer

How many deaths are caused by bulimia?

After adjusting death rates for sample size, the researchers calculate: 5.1 deaths per 1,000 people with anorexia per year. Anorexia increased death risk 5.86-fold. 1.7 deaths per 1,000 people with bulimia per year. Bulimia increased death risk 1.93-fold. 3.3 deaths per 1,000 people with EDNOS per year. EDNOS increased death risk 1.92-fold.

What are the statistics of bulimia?

The statistics on bulimia are shocking to most people. Eating disorders occur across a spectrum of people and can affect individuals of any gender, ethnicity or socioeconomic group. Bulimia statistics tell us that the lifetime prevalence of bulimia nervosa in the United States is 1.5% in women and 0.5% in men.

What are the causes and risk factors for bulimia?

  • Perfectionism. One of the strongest risk factors for an eating disorder is perfectionism, especially a type of perfectionism called self-oriented perfectionism, which involves setting unrealistically high expectations for yourself.
  • Body image dissatisfaction. ...
  • Personal history of an anxiety disorder. ...
  • Behavioral inflexibility. ...

What are warning signs of bulimia?

Warning Signs and Symptoms

  • Dramatic weight loss
  • Dresses in layers to hide weight loss or stay warm
  • Is preoccupied with weight, food, calories, fat grams, and dieting
  • Refuses to eat certain foods, progressing to restrictions against whole categories of food (e.g., no carbohydrates, etc.)
  • Makes frequent comments about feeling “fat” or overweight despite weight loss

More items...

image

Does bulimia nervosa have the highest mortality rate?

Despite treatment advances, mortality rates of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa remain very high: those who have received inpatient treatment for anorexia nervosa still have a more than five times increased mortality risk.

How many deaths are caused by bulimia?

Total number of deaths in the United States due to eating disorders from 2018 to 2019, by conditionCharacteristicNumber of deathsAnorexia nervosa2,680Bulimia nervosa980Binge eating disorder3,110Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorders3,430Jul 16, 2020

What is the mortality rate for eating disorders is approximately?

Without treatment, up to 20 percent of all eating disorder cases result in death.

Which eating disorder has the highest mortality rate?

Background. Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a common eating disorder with the highest mortality rate of all psychiatric diseases.

Can bulimia cause sudden death?

The most common causes of sudden death in bulimia are cardiac or respiratory arrest, the result of electrolyte imbalances from excessive purging.

Does bulimia shorten your life?

Bulimia doubles the risk of premature death. Patients diagnosed with anorexia in their 20s have 18 times the risk of death compared to healthy individuals of the same age. Why people with eating disorders may die early is not always clear, the authors stressed.

What is the mortality rate for anorexia nervosa?

Results: The crude rate of mortality due to all causes of death for subjects with anorexia nervosa in these studies was 5.9% (178 deaths in 3,006 subjects). The aggregate mortality rate was estimated to be 0.56% per year, or approximately 5.6% per decade.

What percentage of the world has bulimia?

The overall prevalence of bulimia nervosa was 0.3%. Prevalence of bulimia nervosa was five times higher among females (0.5%) than males (0.1%).

What country has the highest rate of eating disorders?

It is fair to say that the increasing rate of eating disorders, Japan has the highest rate of prevalence, followed by Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea.

What is the mortality rate of depression?

The crude mortality rate per 1000 person-years was 39.5 for the nondepressed, 71.4 for persons with minor depression, and 60.7 for those with major depression (Table 2). Persons with minor depression had a significant 1.84-fold higher risk of dying than nondepressed persons (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.49-2.27).

What mental illness can cause death?

The most common primary diagnoses were alcohol or other drug abuse (29%); depression (25%); psychotic disorders (18%); BPAD (9%) and personality disorder (5%). The most common cause of death was suicide (51.8%) followed by motor vehicle crashes and falls, (23.3%) medical causes (17.6%) and homicide (1.3%).

What is wrong with bulimia?

Bulimia can eventually lead to physical problems associated with not getting the right nutrients, vomiting a lot, or overusing laxatives. Possible complications include: feeling tired and weak. dental problems – stomach acid from persistent vomiting can damage tooth enamel.

What is the average age for bulimia?

It is estimated that the average age of bulimia onset among children is 9 – 12 years of age.

How many women suffer from bulimia?

Young women. According to research, approximately 1.1 – 3.7 percent of all females suffer from bulimia nervosa in their lifetime. Bulimia affects as many as 25 percent of college aged women in the US who use binging and purging as a means of weight control. 5.1 percent of women who attend college struggle with bulimia.

Is bulimia a life threatening illness?

Although this illness is often well hidden by those who suffer from it, the health consequences are serious and may be life threatening.

Is bulimia more common in men or women?

Men and bulimia. Women are much more likely than men to develop an eating disorder. However, it is estimated that between 10 – 15 percent of people with bulimia are men. Nearly 14 percent of gay men are coping with bulimia. Men are less likely to seek treatment for an eating disorder such as bulimia, as it is perceived to be a “woman’s illness”.

What percentage of women have bulimia nervosa?

Here are some additional facts about bulimia nervosa: 5 percent of American women suffer from bulimia nervosa in their lifetime. 1. Standardized Mortality Ratio (SMR) for Bulimia Nervosa is 1.93 (SMR is a ratio between the observed number of deaths in an study population and the number of deaths would be expected). 2.

What are the Facts About Bulimia Nervosa?

But you may not know about the intense secrecy associated with this illness: bulimia sufferers work constantly to hide their bingeing and purging behaviors from others.

Is bulimia nervosa a mental illness?

As one of the most complex mental health illnesses, the research around bulimia nervosa is ongoing. We acknowledge that there are some gaps in the field about this eating disorder condition, however, our team is constantly doing their part to study and analyze bulimia to improve our specialized treatment approach.

Abstract

Objective: Anorexia nervosa has been consistently associated with increased mortality, but whether this is true for other types of eating disorders is unclear.

Method

The patients in this study all presented for evaluation at the Outpatient Eating Disorders Clinic at the University of Minnesota between 1979 and 1997. The clinic provided a thorough diagnostic assessment, referral for further medical assessment as indicated, and referral to the appropriate level of specialized care for eating disorders.

Results

The demographic and clinical characteristics of the sample are summarized in Table 1 . As expected, the majority (95.1%) of the sample was female. The most common diagnosis was bulimia nervosa (48.1%), followed by eating disorder not otherwise specified (42.5%) and anorexia nervosa (9.4%).

Discussion

There are several noteworthy findings in this study. It is the first large-scale examination of mortality in individuals meeting criteria for eating disorder not otherwise specified, and the results suggest that mortality associated with this diagnosis is similar to that seen in anorexia nervosa.

What is the mortality rate for bulimia?

Going solely on data from death certificates in the United States that list bulimia as a cause of death, the mortality rate is 3.9% (it’s important to note that cardiac arrest and other health issues are frequently listed instead of bulimia).

What is the prevalence of bulimia nervosa in the US?

Eating disorders occur across a spectrum of people and can affect individuals of any gender, ethnicity or socioeconomic group. Bulimia statistics tell us that the lifetime prevalence of bulimia nervosa in the United States is 1.5% in women and 0.5% in men.

How common is bulimia relapse?

Bulimia statistics tell us that relapse is common, occurring in approximately 30-50% of cases.

What percentage of people with bulimia have parotid gland swelling?

10-66% of those with bulimia suffer sialadenosis or swelling of the parotid glands.

How old is bulimia?

While bulimia occurs most commonly in the adolescent and young adult years, it has been diagnosed in patients as young as six years old as well as among older adults. What is Bulimia? Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder (ED) and like all EDs is complicated and not-fully-understood.

Why does bulimia cause negative energy?

Other times the negative energy balance is the result of an illness or trauma such as sexual abuse that causes a person to lose his or her appetite. Many people with bulimia have co-existing psychiatric conditions with anxiety and depression being very common.

Why is shoplifting common in bulimia?

Shoplifting is common in those with bulimia nervosa due to the high cost of foods and possibly impulse control issues. Self-harm is a common comorbid condition affecting 34% of those with bulimia. Statistics on bulimia show that an estimated 10-15% of people with bulimia are male. Homosexual and bisexual males are at greater risk ...

What is the death rate for bulimia?

One research study reviewed the cause of death across death certificates in the US for the study’s given time window and found a mortality rate of 3.9 percent for bulimia. The rate of fatalities that involved bulimia, or that were caused by this disorder, is likely to be higher because coroners may list an associated condition as the cause of death, such as cardiac arrest.

What are the complications of bulimia?

As the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) notes, the following health complications can arise from bulimia: Imbalance of electrolytes leading to heartbeat irregularity that can, in turn, cause heart failure or death. A gastric rupture during bingeing episodes.

What are some interesting facts about bulimia?

These are just a few key facts everyone should know about bulimia: 1 A cycle of binges and purges characterizes this disease. 2 More women have bulimia than men, but men can get bulimia, too. 3 Suicidal thoughts are common among people with bulimia. 4 This eating disorder can be treated. 5 Without treatment, bulimia can cause death.

How many people with bulimia will receive treatment?

Despite public awareness on the many hazards associated with bulimia and the imminent need for help, it is estimated that only one in 10 people with bulimia will receive treatment. Relapse occurs in 30-50 percent of cases; however, relapse is considered to be part of the recovery process and should not be considered a sign that recovery is not possible.

How to treat bulimia?

It is most advisable for bulimia treatment to occur in a structured rehab program. The main treatment approaches for bulimia are medications and therapy.

How many people have bulimia?

These percentages translate to 4.7 million females and 1.5 million males. Although bulimia primarily affects adolescents and young adults, there are reports of this disorder occurring in a person as young as 6 years old as well as senior citizens.

Can men get bulimia?

More women have bulimia than men, but men can get bulimia, too.

How many years of life are lost due to eating disorders?

Estimates are that yearly over 3.3 million healthy life years worldwide are lost because of eating disorders. In contrast to other mental disorders, in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa years lived with disability (YLDs) have increased. Despite treatment advances, mortality rates of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa remain very high: those who have received inpatient treatment for anorexia nervosa still have a more than five times increased mortality risk. Mortality risks for bulimia nervosa, and for anorexia nervosa treated outside the hospital, are lower but still about twice those of controls. In people with an eating disorder, quality of life is reduced, yearly healthcare costs are 48% higher than in the general population, the presence of mental health comorbidity is associated with 48% lower yearly earnings, the number of offspring is reduced, and risks for adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes are increased.

What is the hazard ratio for anorexia nervosa?

In users of secondary mental healthcare services an SMR of 5.2 (95% confidence interval (CI): 3.8–7.0) was reported for anorexia nervosa and atypical anorexia nervosa according to ICD-10 criteria [16]. Also using ICD-10 criteria, Suokas et al.found a hazard ratio of 6.5 (95% CI: 3.5–12.3) for people with anorexia nervosa and atypical anorexia nervosa treated in tertiary care [17]. These rates were comparable to the SMR for anorexia nervosa of 5.9 (95% CI 4.2–8.3) calculated in a landmark meta-analysis of worldwide eating disorder mortality rates published in 2011 [18], but higher than the relative risk of 2.2 (95% CI: 2.1–2.3) for mortality of mental disorders versus controls, pooled over 148 studies [19].

What are the risks of eating disorders?

People with a current or former eating disorder are at risk of increased mortality, high YLD rates, a reduced quality of life, increased costs, and problems with childbearing.

When did the Global Burden of Disease start?

A major global effort to gather, combine, and compare information on the burden associated with a large range of disorders, both somatic and mental, is the ongoing Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study, which started in 1990. Information is regularly updated and available online through the Global Health Data Exchange (GHDx) site of the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (Seattle, Washington, USA): http://ghdx.healthdata.org/. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa have been included since the GBD 2010 study.

What is the ICd 10 code for eating disorders?

For the combined category of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and other eating disorders (ICD-10 code F50 ), in a study linking data from the Danish Psychiatric Central Research Register (containing information on inpatient treatment and outpatient and emergency room visits) with the Danish Register of Causes of Death, an overall MRR of 2.9 (95% CI 2.6–3.1) was reported [22▪].

What is the burden of disease?

The burden of disease is defined as the gap between current health status and an ideal situation in which everyone lives into old age free of disease and disability. Causes of the gap are premature mortality, disability, and exposure to certain risk factors that contribute to illness. An important metric to express this gap is the disability-adjusted life year (DALY). One DALY expresses one lost year of ‘healthy’ life. The burden of a disease is the sum of DALYs for this specific disease across a population. DALYs are calculated as the sum of the years of life lost (YLL) because of premature mortality and the years lost due to disability (YLD), thus incorporating both mortality and morbidity information. Using DALYs, the burdens of various diseases can be compared, from those that cause premature death but little disability to those that cause disability but not death.

How does eating disorder affect a child?

A systematic literature review of studies comparing mothers with and without an eating disorder and their children revealed a range of differences that indicate an impact of maternal eating disorder on the child 's psychological, cognitive, and eating development, such as more behavioural difficulties regarding feeding and eating, more socioemotional difficulties, and possibly an increased risk for the development of eating disorder in the child [45]. Reports of children's difficulties by mothers with an eating disorder may be biased and need to be considered with caution.

image

Mortality of Eating Disorders

Image
Eating disorders statistically have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness, however, research shows most deaths from anorexia, not bulimia. A study released in January (and only available online when this article was written) found people with anorexia were five times more likely to die over the study period than their pe…
See more on eatingdisorderhope.com

Hard Work Pays Off For Legislation

  • Decades after his daughter died, Stream watched the Missouri Legislature finally pass the bill he’d written but had passed on to another lawmaker after he left office. Now insurance companies in Missouri are required to cover eating disorders in accordance with the comprehensive recommendations of the American Psychiatric Association. This includes inpatient treatment an…
See more on eatingdisorderhope.com

Community Discussion – Share Your Thoughts Here!

  • Have you or your loved one been involved in advocacy related to Bulimia Nervosa, in what way? About the Author: Leigh Bell holds a Bachelor of Arts in English with minors in Creative Writing and French from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. She is a published author, journalist with 15 years of experience, and a recipient of the Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Ment…
See more on eatingdisorderhope.com

1.Mortality Statistics on Bulimia Nervosa - Eating Disorder …

Url:https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/blog/mortality-statistics-on-bulimia-nervosa

18 hours ago Results: Crude mortality rates were 4.0% for anorexia nervosa, 3.9% for bulimia nervosa, and 5.2% for eating disorder not otherwise specified. All-cause standardized mortality ratios were …

2.Increased mortality in bulimia nervosa and other eating …

Url:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19833789/

16 hours ago  · For bulimia nervosa, there has been a decline in overall incidence rate over time. The lifetime prevalence rates of anorexia nervosa might be up to 4% among females and 0.3% …

3.Bulimia Nervosa Statistics and Facts | Eating Recovery …

Url:https://www.eatingrecoverycenter.com/conditions/bulimia/facts-statistics

32 hours ago However, Crow and colleagues (2009) established that risk of fatal outcome was significantly elevated in BN (SMR = 1.57) through a death record search of 906 patients with the …

4.Incidence, prevalence and mortality of anorexia nervosa …

Url:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34419970/

34 hours ago  · One research study reviewed the cause of death across death certificates in the US for the study’s given time window and found a mortality rate of 3.9 percent for bulimia. The …

5.Increased Mortality in Bulimia Nervosa and Other Eating …

Url:https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09020247

23 hours ago  · Open in a separate window. It was estimated that in 2017, worldwide over 3.3 million healthy life years were lost to eating disorder-related disability, amounting to an age …

6.Statistics on Bulimia - Mirror-Mirror

Url:https://mirror-mirror.org/facts-staticstics/statistics-on-bulimia

36 hours ago

7.What Are the Real Facts about Bulimia? - American …

Url:https://americanaddictioncenters.org/bulimia-treatment/facts-and-statistics

9 hours ago

8.Review of the burden of eating disorders: mortality, …

Url:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7575017/

25 hours ago

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9