Risk of Eating Disorders in a population with psychiatric pathology

Abstract

  Risk Eating Behaviors (REB) are subclinical patterns that increase the likelihood of developing eating disorders and are influenced by sociocultural, individual, and environmental factors. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of REB in adults receiving outpatient psychiatric care in northeastern Mexico and to identify common behavioral patterns across diagnostic groups. A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted with 106 participants (mean age = 28.31 ± 10.44 years) attending their first psychiatric consultation. The sample size was calculated for a finite population (Li & Ding, 2017). Psychiatric diagnoses were established by a psychiatry resident and confirmed by a board-certified psychiatrist through structured DSM-5–based interviews. Data were collected using an ad hoc sociodemographic questionnaire and the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26), a validated self-report instrument (Gandarillas et al., 2003). Overall, 57.5% of participants scored above the cut-off (>11), indicating a high prevalence of REB. The most frequent diagnoses were attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (14.9%), borderline personality disorder (11.1%), and mixed anxiety-depressive disorder (9.7%). Avoidance of high-calorie foods and concern with thinness predominated in neurodevelopmental and personality disorders, whereas bingeing and purging behaviors were more frequent in anxiety-related conditions. Self-control over eating and perceived external pressure to eat were more common in trauma, stress-, and sleep-related disorders. These findings underscore the need for targeted screening and preventive interventions in psychiatric populations