Eating Disorders in People living with Chronic illness

Key things to know What the evidence shows
How common is it? Disease-specific; e.g. IBD physician-diagnosed ED 2.84% pooled
Is it more common among people living with chronic illness? Certain diet-dependent illnesses can increase ED/disordered-eating vulnerability
Are people living with chronic illness at higher risk? Yes for selected illnesses, not every chronic condition
How much higher is the risk? IBD: 2.84% physician-diagnosed ED vs 13.6% questionnaire-positive
How often can it be missed? Very High
Does it show up differently among people living with chronic illness? Strong Yes contextually
How might it look different? Necessary elimination/restrictive diets can blur line between medically necessary behaviour and ED restriction
What commonly occurs alongside it? Disease-specific; anxiety/depression
What can it be confused with? Medically required dietary restriction; GI disease; food allergy/intolerance; ARFID
Common screening tool SCOFF with disease context
Separate screening tool for people living with chronic illness Disease-specific tools may be useful; none universal
1 of 14