부산대학교 도서관

Background: Little is known about the prevalence and impairment associated with possible Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) in community adolescent populations. We aimed to investigate the prevalence, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and psychological distress associated with possible ARFID in a sample of adolescents from the general population in New South Wales, Australia.Methods: A representative sample of 5072 secondary school students aged between 11 and 19 years completed the online EveryBODY survey in 2017. The survey included demographic data, eating behaviours, psychological distress and both physical and psychosocial health-related quality of life.Results: The prevalence of possible ARFID was 1.98% (95% CI 1.63–2.41) and did not differ significantly across school years 7–12. The weight status of participants with possible ARFID did not differ significantly from those without possible ARFID. When measuring gender identity, the ratio of males to females with possible ARFID was 1:1.7. This was statistically significant, however, the effect size was very small. Psychological distress and HRQoL did not differ significantly between the possible ARFID and non-ARFID group.Conclusions: The prevalence of possible ARFID was found to be similar to that of anorexia nervosa and binge eating disorder in the general adolescent population. Adolescents who identify as girls rather than boys may be more likely to develop ARFID, replication with new samples is required to confirm these findings. The impact of ARFID on HRQoL may be minimal in adolescence and become more significant in adulthood, further research using longitudinal design, healthy control groups and/or diagnostic interviews is required.
Plain English summary: Little is known about how common and what the associated harms are for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) in community adolescent populations. In adult community populations, ARFID has been associated with impaired mental health and quality-of-life. This study aimed to investigate how common possible ARFID is and associated health-related quality of life and psychological distress in a sample of adolescents from the general population in New South Wales, Australia. From a sample of 5072 adolescents aged between 11 and 19 years of age we found 1.98% of adolescents had possible ARFID. The weight status of participants with possible ARFID did not differ from those without possible ARFID. When measuring gender identity, the ratio of males to females with possible ARFID was 1 to1.7. Psychological distress and quality of life did not differ significantly between the possible ARFID and non-ARFID group. From study results we could determine possible ARFID was as likely as anorexia nervosa and binge eating disorders in the general adolescent population. Adolescents who identify as girls rather than boys may be more likely to develop possible ARFID. The impact of ARFID on quality of life may be minimal in adolescence and become more significant in adulthood. Further research is needed to investigate this possibility.