This issue is all about research and variety, ranging from dealing with long-term and complex eating disorders, which affect a fifth of persons with eating disorders, to eating disorders among men (see “More Data on Eating Disorders and Gender,” elsewhere in this issue). Another article examines new research on the effects of loneliness on intimate partner violence. We learn that the effects of the COVID pandemic continue, even as the numbers of people affected by COVID-19 seem to fall. For example, in Canada, COVID-19-linked hospitalizations and cases of anorexia nervosa (AN) have risen for Canadian children and teens.
Another article turns the spotlight on bone health among persons with eating disorders, particularly those with AN. Abnormally low body weight from malnutrition or an eating disorder affects a number of organ systems, including the musculoskeletal system, and the cardiovascular and central nervous systems. AN leads to lower bone mass in both the spine and the hip, increased cortical porosity, and reduced bone strength; the same pattern is much less marked among patients with bulimia nervosa (BN).
In an article aimed at clinicians rather than at patient care, Dr. Sandra Wartski, a frequent contributor to Eating Disorders Review, reminds readers to think about their own well-being in her article, “The ABCs of SOS, or Strategies of Self-Care.”
There is good news, too, as in the latest Health and Human Services awards to two universities. These awards are aimed at improving early detection and prevention of eating disorders among teenage girls. In addition, it is interesting to note that since 2013, the National Eating Disorders Association’s (NEDA) Feeding Hope Fund has awarded $2 million in research grants to 20 researchers.
—MKS
