The risk of eating disorders among children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Results of a matched cohort study

Haitham Jahrami; Ahmed Malalla AlAnsari; Abdulrahman Ismaeel Janahi; Ammar Khalid Janahi; Latifa Rashid Darraj; Mo'ez Al-Islam E Faris

doi:10.1016/j.ijpam.2020.06.002

The risk of eating disorders among children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Results of a matched cohort study

Int J Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2021 Jun;8(2):102-106. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpam.2020.06.002. Epub 2020 Jul 6.

Authors

Haitham Jahrami^{1

2}, Ahmed Malalla AlAnsari^{1

2}, Abdulrahman Ismaeel Janahi², Ammar Khalid Janahi², Latifa Rashid Darraj², Mo'ez Al-Islam E Faris³

Affiliations

¹ Ministry of Health, P.O. Box: 12, Manama, Bahrain.
² College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Bahrain.
³ Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, College of Health Sciences/Research Institute of Medical and Health Sciences (RIMHS), University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

Abstract

Background and objectives: There are some studies on the association between attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the risk of eating disorders (ED). Only few have examined the risk of ED among children and adolescents with ADHD. Previous research which included subjects with ADHD with other comorbidities used inadequate controls and did not focus on the type of ADHD or the role of pharmacological treatment.

Methods: This matched cohort study was conducted in the Child/Adolescents Psychiatry Unit (CAPU), Bahrain. Using the CAPU diagnostic frameworks, 70 subjects with ADHD were recruited and matched with their corresponding age- and sex- healthy controls at 1:2 ratio (70 cases:140 controls). The participants were children or adolescents aged between 8 and 19 years old. A brief interview was used to collect socio-demographic information and anthropometrics. The risk of ED was estimated using the eating attitude test -26 (EAT-2). Data were analyzed using cohort analysis.

Results: A total of 31.43% of the subjects with ADHD were screened using EAT-26 and found to be 'at risk' for ED, compared to 12.14% of the controls (OR 3.31, 95% CI 1.62-6.78). The prevalence of ED among female cases with ADHD was slightly higher than males (33.33% and 30.77%, respectively). Body weight or body mass index was a statistically significant explanatory factor for the risk of ED.

Conclusions: The present study shows that children and adolescents with ADHD have a three-fold increased risk of ED compared to healthy controls. This research raised the recommendation that children and adolescents with ADHD should be screened for disordered eating patterns.

Keywords: Adolescents; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD); Children; Eating disorders.