Eating disorders are the mental disorders with the highest mortality rate

Eating disorders (ED), which affect between 1 and 3% of the population, are the mental disorders with the highest mortality rate, as four out of ten sufferers do not recover or only partially recover, according to the Spanish Society of Twins. Pathology (SEPD).

“It is no coincidence that they tend to appear especially in adolescence, around 13 to 18 years old, a stage in which a number of conflicts and difficulties arise that create problems for people,” said Fernando, a professor at the University of Barcelona. Fernandez Aranda during his speech at the 26th SEPD Congress in Palma.

Also, the director of the Bellwich Hospital Eating Disorders Unit (HUB) said during the meeting that it has brought together about 2,000 international mental health professionals who deal with disorders with multiple causes, in which various factors, such as environmental factors, intervene. , biological and social.

As the expert clarified, the majority normally experience this transitional stage and its conflicts, but vulnerable people have a greater risk of developing an eating disorder.

A clinical psychologist lamented that eating disorders have historically not been given the importance they do, especially since eating disorders are the mental health conditions with the highest mortality rate.

This, he said, is about 6% and is due mainly to the high suicide rate and health complications typical of emergency rooms, which also generate high morbidity and mortality rates.

The specialist highlighted the long-term impact of eating disorders on victims and their families, which also contributes to the comorbidity of eating disorders with other mental health conditions, known as dual pathology.

According to Fernando Fernandez, the percentage of patients with eating disorders who have another mental disorder varies depending on when the affected people are treated.

Additionally, during his participation at the congress, he emphasized the importance of incorporating a dual pathology perspective into the approach to these eating disorders.

“This perspective is necessary because we see that patients who have ED along with substance abuse are patients with greater severity and psychopathology, with more dysfunctional personality traits and more cognitive impairment,” the expert commented.