Characteristics of Women with Midlife-Onset Eating Disorders

Since the late 1990’s, Remuda Ranch Program for Eating Disorders has experienced a 400% increase in patients 40 years of age and older, according to the authors of this paper. However, we don’t really know what the similarities and differences are between women who develop eating disorders in adolescence and those who develop their eating disorders in midlife (40-65 years of age).

It has been theorized that EDs in midlife may be triggered by midlife transitions, such as loss of parents, siblings, or children; divorce; traumatic illness; and empty nest syndrome (Harris & Cumella, 2006; Maine & Kelly, 2005; Shellenbarger, 2004). […] Two quantitative studies found a high correlation between the fear of aging and disordered eating in older populations (Gupta, 1995; Lewis & Cachelin, 2001).

In this paper, Edward Cumella and Zina Kally present a summary of 50 women who first developed eating disorders at the age of 40 … Continue reading →

Eating Disorders and Psychiatric Comorbidities in Female Inpatients

Patients with eating disorders commonly exhibit comorbid psychiatric disorders, including anxiety, depression and OCD. The presence of comorbid disorders has been shown to exacerbate the severity and chronicity of the disorder, and unfavourably affect treatment outcome. Moreover, comorbid disorders may necessitate specialized treatment plans that take into account all the co-occuring disorders. Recovery from an eating disorder is hard enough, but when it is complicated by depression and severe anxiety, it can be a lot harder.

Nonetheless, commonly co-occuring psychiatric disorders may also provide researchers and clinicians clues about the etiology of eating disorders, the underlying neuronal processes as well as possible pharmacological interventions.

Researchers have been identifying disorders that commonly co-occur with eating disorders and studying the differences in co-morbidity between disorders. I picked one to write about today, it is a study by Blinder and colleagues that came out in 2007. It is by no means the best, … Continue reading →