Worrying post-pandemic trends in eating disorders and self-harm in adolescents

Abstract

Increasing global evidence is unveiling the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting societal upheaval adversely affected young people's mental health. 1 Feinmann J Eating disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic. BMJ. 2021; 374n1787 Google Scholar In England, the Mental Health of Children and Young People (MHCYP) Survey series and the Children and Young People with an Eating Disorder (CYP ED) Waiting Times data provide clear evidence that referrals to specialist services for the assessment and treatment of eating disorders increased substantially following pandemic onset in 2020. Temporal trends in eating disorder and self-harm incidence rates among adolescents and young adults in the UK in the 2 years since onset of the COVID-19 pandemic: a population-based studyAlthough causes are uncertain, increased incidence of eating disorder diagnoses and self-harm among teenage girls in the UK during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic highlight an urgent need for intervention. Early identification of mental health difficulties by primary care clinicians is necessary. Timely access to treatments and sufficient support from general practitioners and mental health services needs to be available to manage presenting problems and to prevent exacerbations of conditions. Full-Text PDF Open Access