A new study has found that healthcare professionals could now have the ability to identify possible eating disorder cases a year before they would have been diagnosed, getting patients support sooner than ever before.
JAMA Network Open published the study, which saw researchers analyze health data for people ages 13 and older starting in 2008. The team then tracked participants’ electrolyte levels until 2020, making note of how many had been diagnosed with eating disorders.
Results from the research found those with electrolyte abnormalities were twice as likely as those who didn’t to be diagnosed with an eating disorder. The study also found that people with severe abnormalities were more than five times as likely to be diagnosed.
Dr. Gregory Hundemer, the lead author of the study, shared that by examining electrolyte levels in patients, doctors may now be able to predict eating disorders even earlier.
Several factors that impact electrolyte levels are also common symptoms of eating disorders, including dehydration, restrictive diets, vomiting, and the use of laxatives. Hundemer said that disordered eating patterns are present for some time before they are diagnosed.
The research is massive as it comes at a time when the number of eating disorder inpatient admissions in young adults and adolescents doubled from Spring 2020 to spring 2021, according to another study published in JAMA Pediatrics.
The pandemic exacerbated the number of young people suffering from eating disorders, with inpatient admissions for young adults and adolescents with eating disorders rising by 7.2% a month in 2020, the study found.
In the study, electrolyte abnormalities were found more than a year before the patients were diagnosed with any eating disorder, Hundemer said, adding that the extra time will allow for more targeted screenings to help patients.
However, health experts like Dr. Sydney Hartman-Munick, who works as an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, shared with CNN that the discovery found in the study isn’t the final step in fighting eating disorders.
“There is still so much we don’t know about the best methods for prevention and early detection for eating disorders, and this study offers new insight into future study in this area,” Hartman-Munick said.
Those who are struggling with an eating disorder are encouraged to call the National Eating Disorders Association helpline at 800-931-2237 for guidance and support.
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