Behavioral Health Factors in Patients with Eating Disorders
Patients With Eating Disorders
Patients with eating disorders typically present behavioral health symptoms that require a secondary diagnosis. In fact, 9 out of 10 patients with an eating disorder present with a mood disorder as a primary diagnosis. Additionally, 1 in 50 patients with a mood disorder, have a secondary diagnosis of an eating disorder. Your ability to screen and recognize behavioral health symptoms such as an eating disorder is imperative to the patient receiving proper care.
While patients of varying ages can be diagnosed with eating disorders, they are typically females in their early 20s that exhibit both restrictive and binging behaviors. Male patients with eating disorders are 12 times more likely to be gay or bisexual than heterosexual. Weight is usually not a factor, with only 6% of eating disorders patients being underweight.
Some key steps to successfully identifying and treating eating disorders would be to educate staff on disordered eating behaviors, screen patients for disordered eating and encourage recovery after acute treatment.
Our colleagues at Mental Health Outcomes (MHO) have put together a helpful infographic that sheds some light on identifying and treating patients with eating disorders.