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Prevalence of anorexia nervosa and bulimia in three student populations
Author(s) -
Pope Harrison G.,
Hudson James I.,
YurgelunTodd Deborah,
Hudson Margo S.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/1098-108x(198421)3:3<45::aid-eat2260030304>3.0.co;2-g
Subject(s) - anorexia nervosa , bulimia nervosa , eating disorders , psychology , psychiatry , anorexia , clinical psychology , allowance (engineering) , public health , medicine , nursing , mechanical engineering , engineering
A confidential questionnaire, covering the DSM‐III criteria for anorexia nervosa and bulimia, was administered to three samples of students, totalling 1060 individuals, at two colleges and a secondary school. Although none of the male respondents met DSM‐III criteria for either disorder, 1.0% to 4.2% of women met DSM‐III criteria for a history of anorexia nervosa (with or without a history of bulimia), and an additional 6.5% to 18.6% met DSM‐III criteria for a history of bulimia alone. Even when allowance is made for the number of nonrespondents, possible falsepositive questionnaire responses, and the limitations of the DSM‐III criteria themselves, the prevalence rates appear substantial. Taking into account the mean ages of various samples, our results agree closely with two previous studies that each examined a single sample of students. These results augment the growing evidence that the eating disorders represent a serious public health problem.