Sexual Minorities Found to Be at Elevated Risk for Eating Disorders

People who are homosexual, bisexual, or unsure of their sexual orientation have both a higher risk and a higher rate of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder than people who are heterosexual, astudy in theInternational Journal of Eating Disorders has found. Although prior research suggests that members of sexual minorities have a higher risk of eating disorder symptoms than heterosexuals, this study is believed to be the first to use data from a large number of people to determine how common eating disorders are among sexual minority members.Rebecca C. Kamody, Ph.D., of Yale University School of Medicine and colleagues analyzed data from the 2012-2013 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (NESARC-III), a survey of roughly 36,000 U.S. adults. The NESARC-III determined if participants had eating disorders based on whether their responses suggested that they met the DSM-5 criteria for eating disorders. They found that eating disorders occurred at the following rates among sexual minorities and heterosexuals:Anorexia nervosa occurred in 1.71% of members of sexual minorities, compared with 0.77% of heterosexuals.Bulimia nervosa occurred in 1.25% of members of sexual minorities, compared with 0.24% of heterosexuals.Binge eating disorder occurred in 2.17% of members of sexual minorities, compared with 0.81% of heterosexuals.Anorexia nervosa occurs in 3.78% of members of sexual minorities who experienced di...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: anorexia nervosa binge eating disorder bulimia nervosa DSM-5 eating disorders heterosexual International Journal of Eating Disorders NESARC-III Rebecca C. Kamody sexual minorities Source Type: research