The relationship between eating disorder psychopathology and health-related quality of life within a community sample

Abstract

Recent research has begun investigating the impact of eating disorders on health-related quality of life (QOL). The present study examined the impact of eating disorder psychopathology on QOL within a community sample. Two hundred and fourteen women completed questionnaires assessing eating disorder symptoms, body dissatisfaction, body checking and body avoidance behaviors, and general psychopathology. Eating disturbance and body image dissatisfaction were associated with poorer QOL. In addition, eating disorder psychopathology uniquely predicted QOL above and beyond the variance accounted for by general psychopathology. Both subjective bulimic episodes and objective bulimic episodes were associated with impairments in QOL. These results indicate that eating disorder psychopathology may adversely affect the lives of women within the community. Early intervention and detection could reduce the negative impact of eating disorder psychopathology on women's lives and protect individuals with mild eating disorder symptoms from a further reduction in QOL.