Behavioural and emotional symptoms of adolescents consulting a specialised eating disorders programme

Introduction

Eating disorders (EDs) are complex conditions of multifactorial origin. Their main characteristic is excessive concern about body weight and shape, which causes great discomfort and physical problems and leads to a decrease in quality of life and alterations in the patient’s functionality social environment. The objective of this study is to describe the emotional and behavioural symptoms of adolescents who consult a specialised ED programme in the city of Bogota.

Methods

Observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study, for which patients between 11 and 19 years old with an ED diagnosis were recruited.

Results

Forty patients with an ED diagnosis were included, of which 92% were female. The mean age of the patients was 16.6 ± 1.9 years; 57% of patients live in a two-parent home and 30% in a single-parent home; 72% of the sample had excellent academic performance; 50% were moderately ill; 60% received pharmacological management with SSRIs; 65% of patients met clinical criteria for anxiety disorder, 30% for depressive disorder; 22.5% had aggression problems; 17.5% criminal behaviour; 72.5% of the sample met clinical criteria for internalising symptoms and 42.5% for externalising symptoms, the majority being patients with a diagnosis of bulimia nervosa.

Conclusions

Patients with bulimia nervosa obtained higher scores in the different emotional and behavioural symptoms than those with other eating disorders. This condition is associated with greater psychopathology, which must be examined rigorously at the time of clinical care, seeking to reduce the functional impact that these symptoms generate on the individual.