Background and aims: Recent community based studies report difficulty finding current cases of anorexia nervosa and very low prevalence. There is also debate over whether eating disorders, specifically bulimia nervosa, may be increasing. We aimed to evaluate the point prevalence of eating disorders over a 10-year period.
Method: In 1995 we conducted a general population survey of 3001 (72% respondents) randomly selected individuals in South Australia and in 2005 we repeated this (n = 3047, 63.1% respondents). Eating Disorder symptoms and behaviours over the preceding 3-months were assessed by structured interview
Results: Over the decade there were significant and over two-fold increases in binge eating, purging (self-induced vomiting and/or laxative or diuretic misuse) and strict dieting or fasting for weight or shape control (all p <0.001). These remained significant when controlling for age and gender, and demographic changes in BMI, income levels and educational attainment. The prevalence of Bulimia Nervosa and Anorexia Nervosa remained similar and the increase in eating disorder prevalence was largely due to an increase in Binge Eating Disorder and other EDNOS diagnoses.
Discussion: While no current cases of anorexia nervosa were identified, there were 5 (0.2%) possible cases. Methodological reasons for the apparent low prevalence of anorexia nervosa in community surveys will be discussed.
