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Friday, October 08, 2010

Eating Disorder Patients Not Screened for Self-Injury

A study out of the Stanford University School of Medicine has found that, though teenage eating disorder sufferers are more prone to self-injurious behavior (cutting, etc), they are rarely screened for it.

To see how often this happens and how often doctors proactively screen for the association, the investigators focused on the medical records of 1,432 patients between the ages of 10 and 21 years, who had sought treatment for an eating disorder. Source: - National Institutes of Health

The study found that more than 40 percent of patients had engaged in self-injurious behavior. Of that 40 percent, only about half had been screened for the behavior by medical professionals. Lead author Dr. Rebecka Peebles hopes the results of the study will encourage doctors to alter their “classic profile” for eating disorder patients.

Labels: self-esteem, self-destruction

Posted By: Jane St. Clair

Comments:

Chelsea on 11/11/2010
It's incredibly common for someone who has an eating disorder to also self-injure. It should be a standard thing to discuss with a patient. Body checks are often done inpatient so the medical staff can check to see if the patient is injurying themselves while in the residential/hospital program.