Grant: Project Grant

Eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia nervosa are common, especially in young women. Eating disorders are severe mental health problems, but there is little information on eating disorders in Canadians. Eating disorders often begin in adolescence and impact the heart, kidneys, and many other parts of the body. Anorexia and bulimia nervosa have the potential to increase the chance of chronic diseases later in life. Eating disorders during pregnancy may also influence the health of children. However, we know little about the long-term consequences of eating disorders. This project aims to determine the long-term effects of eating disorders in Canadians and their children. We will use a dataset containing hospital admissions for individuals in Quebec from 1989 to 2022. This data is excellent for identifying severe eating disorders that place a large burden on society. We will identify men, women, and patients of all genders who were admitted for eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. We will follow the patients over time to identify future hospitalizations for chronic problems such as kidney disease and digestive illnesses. We will also identify the children of women with eating disorders and follow them over time to assess their health outcomes during childhood. We will determine how eating disorders relate to long-term health outcomes and how maternal eating disorders impact illnesses in their children. Eating disorders may become a larger problem in the future due to social media and the obesity epidemic. The COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in eating disorders in youth. This project will uncover the long-term outcomes of eating disorders. The findings will help doctors improve their care of Canadians with eating disorders over the course of their lives.