Eating Disorders Linked to Increased Risk of Suicide

Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia, are insidious mental illnesses that if left untreated can result in loss of life. What’s more, past research has indicated that people suffering from eating disorders were at an increased risk of suicide, but the studies were inconsistent and did not account for other forms of mental illness being at play, Medscape reports. A new study, the most in depth to date, adjusted the findings for co-occurring factors, and found that not only are people with eating disorders at an increased risk of suicide - their family members are too. The research was published online in JAMA Psychiatry.

The new study took place in Sweden and involved data from 2,268,786 individuals born between January 1979 and December 2001, and were observed beginning at six years of age, according to the article. Of the pool, there were 15,457 females (1.40% of all females) and 991 males (0.09% of males) that were found to have an eating disorder. 7,680 females and 453 males had anorexia nervosa, and 3,349 females and 61 males had bulimia.

Even after the researchers adjusted for co-occurring disorders, drug and alcohol addiction or depression, people with eating disorders were at an increased risk of suicide, the article reports. What’s more, the siblings of people with eating disorders were found to be at an increased risk of suicide as well, suggesting that genetic factors play a part.

"Clinicians and family members should remain vigilant for signs of suicidality in all individuals with eating disorders, regardless of the presence of other psychiatric disorders,” said study lead Shuyang Yao, from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. “Risk for suicide was increased in both anorexia and bulimia nervosa, encouraging vigilance in both disorders.”

If you or a loved one have a co-occurring eating disorder, please contact Whiteside Manor.