Comparative prevalence, correlates of impairment, and service utilization for eating disorders across US ethnic groups: Implications for reducing ethnic disparities in health care access for eating disorders

TLDR

The study compared the prevalence, functional impairment, and service utilization of eating disorders among Latinos, Asians, and African Americans versus non‑Latino Whites. The authors pooled data from the NIMH Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiological Studies (CPES) 2007. The study found that anorexia nervosa and binge‑eating disorder prevalence were similar across all groups, bulimia nervosa was more common among Latinos and African Americans, lifetime binge‑eating prevalence was higher in all minority groups, and mental‑health service use was lower for minorities with eating disorders, underscoring the need for equitable care. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Int J Eat Disord 2011.

Abstract

Abstract Objective: The study compared the prevalence, correlates of functional impairment, and service utilization for eating disorders across Latinos, Asians, and African Americans living in the United States to non‐Latino Whites. Method: Pooled data from the NIMH Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiological Studies (CPES;NIMH, 2007) were used. Results: The prevalence of anorexia nervosa (AN) and binge‐eating disorder (BED) were similar across all groups examined, but bulimia nervosa (BN) was more prevalent among Latinos and African Americans than non‐Latino Whites. Despite similar prevalence of BED among ethnic groups examined, lifetime prevalence of any binge eating (ABE) was greater among each of the ethnic minority groups in comparison to non‐Latino Whites. Lifetime prevalence of mental health service utilization was lower among ethnic minority groups studied than for non‐Latino Whites for respondents with a lifetime history of any eating disorder. Discussion: These findings suggest the need for clinician training and health policy interventions to achieve optimal and equitable care for eating disorders across all ethnic groups in the United States. © 2010 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2011)