Prevalence of eating disorders over the 2000–2018 period: a systematic literature review

Summary & key facts

This systematic review looked at studies from 2000–2018 that measured how common eating disorders are. The authors followed PRISMA rules and included 94 studies with accurate diagnoses and 27 studies with broader categories. Across the accurate-diagnosis studies, women had higher rates than men. Point prevalence estimates rose over time from the early 2000s to 2013–2018. The review also notes that studies differ a lot, so combining results is difficult.

Key facts:

• The review included 94 studies with accurate eating-disorder diagnoses and 27 studies reporting broader eating-disorder categories.
• The weighted mean lifetime prevalence (range) from the 94 accurate-diagnosis studies was 8.4% (3.3–18.6%) for women and 2.2% (0.8–6.5%) for men.
• The weighted mean 12-month prevalence (range) was 2.2% (0.8–13.1%) for women and 0.7% (0.3–0.9%) for men.
• The weighted mean point prevalence (range) was 5.7% (0.9–13.5%) for women and 2.2% (0.2–7.3%) for men.
• By continent, weighted mean point prevalence (ranges) were: America 4.6% (2.0–13.5%), Europe 2.2% (0.2–13.1%), and Asia 3.5% (0.6–7.8%).
• The 27 studies using broad categories reported weighted mean total point prevalence of any eating disorder of 19.4% (6.5–36.0%) for women and 13.8% (3.6–27.1%) for men.
• The weighted mean point prevalence increased across the study period from 3.5% for 2000–2006 to 7.8% for 2013–2018.
• The authors say it is hard to combine all prevalence data because studies used different methods and definitions, so results vary and should be interpreted with caution.

Topics

Eating Disorders and Behaviors Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders

Categories

Clinical Psychology Psychology Social Sciences

Tags

Demography Eating disorders Epidemiology Internal medicine Law Medicine MEDLINE Pathology Political science Prevalence Psychiatry Public health Sociology Systematic review