Primary care use among adults with eating disorders in England: a population-based cohort study using electronic health records.
Adults with eating disorders had about double the rate of primary care contacts versus matched controls.
Primary care use among adults with eating disorders in England: a population-based cohort study using electronic health records.
To examine primary care contacts among individuals with eating disorders (eating disorders) and assess differences across diagnoses and ethnic backgrounds.
46 473 individuals aged 18-65 years, with a recorded eating disorders diagnosis or a referral to eating disorders services, matched by age, sex and practice location (ratio 1:3) to 145 286 individuals without an eating disorders.
cases had roughly twice as many GP contacts as matched controls in the 24 months before diagnosis or referral
Most individuals had a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa (43.0%), followed by bulimia nervosa (13.8%) and other specified feeding and eating disorders (6.6%).
40.6% were aged 18-25 years, 79.5% were female and ethnicity was predominantly White (83.7%), with smaller proportions Asian (6.3%) and Black (3.4%).
Elevated contact rates were observed across all eating disorders diagnostic groups, with IRRs ranging from 1.78 (95% CI 1.75 to 1.82) for anorexia nervosa to 2.45 (95% CI 2.09 to 2.88) for avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (all p<0.001).
There is a need to increase eating disorders awareness within minoritised communities, alongside culturally inclusive primary care adaptations to support help-seeking for eating disorders.
Targeted education for clinicians and patients in primary care may also improve screening and recognition of eating disorders across diverse presentations and communities, facilitating access to timely, evidence-based care.
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT: The dataset from this study is held securely at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.