Anxiety as a predictor of anorexia and bulimia risk: Comparison between universitaries of Baja California and Mexico City

Abstract

Although anxiety seems to be a constant in patients with eating disorders, little is known about its interaction with other variables. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to compare the risk of anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nerviosa (BN) based on the sex of participants, degree of anxiety and city of residence. The study is a non-experimental and cross-sectional design. The sample was nonrandom and consisted of 857 college students (67% female and 33% male) with a mean age of 21.96 years (SD=4.84), 42% were Mexico City residents and 58% were from Ensenada city. Participants completed two self-report scales, one for assessing risk of AN and BN, and other to measure anxiety. The findings show that the degree of anxiety differs according to the city of residence, being higher in Ensenada city. In addition, a significant interaction was found between the variables; for instance, the risk of BN in Ensenada city residents increases as anxiety increases. Therefore, it is confirmed not only the importance of sex and anxiety on eating disorders, but also the interaction of these two variables with the city of residence.