DISORDERED EATING BEHAVIORS AND THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY AMONG MEDICALAND DENTAL STUDENTS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33279/jkcd.v16i02.1012Keywords:
Anxiety, Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, BMI, Depression, Disordered Eating Behaviors, StressAbstract
Objectives: The study aims to determine the prevalence of disordered eating behaviors among university-going adolescents and young adults aged 18–25 years, and to evaluate their association with depression,anxiety and stress.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 271 medical and dental students in Karachi. Data was collected through convenience sampling. Stress, anxiety, and depression were measured with DASS-21 scale, and disordered eating behaviors were measured using the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26). Correlation between variables were assessed using Spearman's correlation coefficient.
Results: With a median EAT-26 score of 23, 67.9% of individuals were screened positive for eating disorder risk. Over half of the students reported moderate to severe stress, 44.3% displayed extremely severe anxiety and 77.4% indicated some degree of melancholy, indicating a large prevalence of psychological distress. EAT-26 scores were shown to be strongly positively linked with depression (r = 0.705), stress (r = 0.695), anxiety (r = 0.594), and BMI (r = 0.640), indicating a considerable correlation between disordered eating patterns, psychological distress, and body weight.
Conclusion: University students frequently engage in disordered eating practices, which are closely linked to stress, anxiety, depression, and BMI. To prevent long-term mental health repercussions and lessen the public health cost associated with eating-related psychopathology, it is crucial to address disordered eating attitudes throughout adolescence and early adulthood.
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