The impact of COVID-19 epidemic on eating disorders: A longitudinal observation of pre versus post psychopathological features in a sample of patients with eating disorders and a group of healthy controls

Objective: the aim of this longitudinal study was to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 epidemic on Eating Disorders (EDs) patients, considering the role of pre-existing vulnerabilities. Method: 74 patients with Anorexia Nervosa (AN) or Bulimia Nervosa (BN) and 97 healthy controls (HCs) were evaluated before lockdown (T1) and during lockdown (T2). Patients were also evaluated at the beginning of treatment (T0). Questionnaires were collected to assess psychopathology, childhood trauma, attachment style, and COVID-19-related post-traumatic symptoms. Results: A different trend between patients and HCs was observed only for pathological eating behaviors. Patients experienced increased compensatory exercise during lockdown; BN patients also exacerbated binge eating. Lockdown interfered with treatment outcomes: the descending trend of ED-specific psychopathology was interrupted during the epidemic in BN patients. Previously remitted patients showed re-exacerbation of binge eating after lockdown. Household arguments and fear for the safety of loved ones predicted increased symptoms during the lockdown. BN patients reported more severe COVID-19-related post-traumatic symptomatology than AN and HCs, and these symptoms were predicted by childhood trauma and insecure attachment. Discussion: COVID-19 epidemic significantly impacted on EDs, both in terms of post-traumatic symptomatology and interference with the recovery process. Individuals with early trauma or insecure attachment were particularly vulnerable

Prevalence study of mental disorders in an Italian region. Preliminary report

Background: Mental disorders are a major public health problem. However, over the last few years, there have been few studies aimed at evaluating their diffusion. Therefore, this study aimed at evaluating: the prevalence of the most frequent psychiatric disorders in the general population residing in Tuscany using a clinical scale administered by trainee in psychiatry. Methods: The study was carried out on a representative sample of the general population aged > 18 years, randomly extracted from the register of patients in the Tuscany region, adopting a proportional sampling method stratified by gender, age group and Local Health Units (LHU). Each person was contacted by letter followed by a phone call from an operator who makes an appointment with the trainee in psychiatry. The diagnostic interview conducted was the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Point and lifetime prevalence by gender and age group were calculated. Differences and associations were considered statistically significant if their p-values were less than 0.05. Results: Of the 408 people involved, 390 people were enrolled (of which 52.6% female). The 28.5% of the sample had been affected by a psychiatric disorder during their lifetime. In their lifetime, the most represented psychiatric disorders were major depressive episode (20.4%), major depressive disorder (17.0%) and panic disorder (10.3%), more frequent in the female than the male group. Current conditions were predominantly major depressive episode (3.1%) and agoraphobia (2.8%). A 5.9% rate of current suicidal ideation was also found. Conclusions: In the general population, 28.5% of people reported a psychiatric disorder during their lifetime. This prevalence is considerably higher than that reported in a previous study carried out in central Italy