Bulimia Nervosa Statistics 2023: 24 Shocking Facts

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating in combination with inappropriate compensatory behaviours (e.g., self-induced vomiting, laxative misuse).

Understanding the latest bulimia nervosa statistics is important for increasing awareness around the condition, especially as the condition is associated with profound medical, psychological, and social complications. Key statistics on bulimia nervosa are:

1. The lifetime prevalence of bulimia nervosa for adult women ranges from 1.7%-2.0% and for men ranges from 0.5-0.7% ¹Keski-Rahkonen A, Raevuori A, Hoek HW. Epidemiology of eating disorders: an update. Annual Review of Eating Disorders: CRC Press 2018:66-76..
2. The prevalence of bulimia nervosa in ethnic minority youth is 5.1% for girls and 2.3% for boys ² Ruchkin, V., Isaksson, J., Schwab-Stone, M., & Stickley, A. (2021). Prevalence and early risk factors for bulimia nervosa symptoms in inner-city youth: gender and ethnicity perspectives. Journal of eating disorders, 9(1), 1-13 .
3. Among youth with bulimia nervosa, 49% meet criteria for major depression and 66% meet criteria for an anxiety disorder ³ Hail, L., & Le Grange, D. (2018). Bulimia nervosa in adolescents: prevalence and treatment challenges. Adolescent health, medicine and therapeutics, 9, 11. .
4. 2% of adolescent boys/girls with diabetes engaged in self-induced vomiting ⁴ Daniel, L., Haile, D., & Egata, G. (2023). Disordered Eating Behaviours and Body Shape Dissatisfaction among Diabetic Adolescents: a Cross sectional study. .
5. 21% of Bahraini youth and young adults self-reported clinically significant bulimic symptoms ⁵ Abdulla, Zahraa A. Rasool Abbas, Hend Omar Almahmood, Razan Raed Alghasra, Zahra Abdulameer Sadeq Alherz, Husain A. Ghaffar Alsharifa, Seham Jamal Qamber, Nadia Aaref Alomar et al. “Prevalence and associated factors of binge eating disorder among Bahraini youth and young adults: a cross-sectional study in a self-selected convenience sample.” Journal of Eating Disorders 11, no. 1 (2023): 5 .
6. A 22% increase in the prevalence of bulimia nervosa from 2019 to 1990 was observed in Middle Eastern countries ⁶ Safiri, S., Noori, M., Nejadghaderi, S. A., Shamekh, A., Karamzad, N., Sullman, M. J., … & Kolahi, A. A. (2023). The estimated burden of bulimia nervosa in the Middle East and North Africa region, 1990–2019. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 56(2), 394-406
7. Of adolescents with bulimia nervosa, more than half (53%) endorsed suicidal ideation, over a quarter of the sample had a plan for suicide, and more than a third had had a prior suicide attempt ⁷ Hail, L., & Le Grange, D. (2018). Bulimia nervosa in adolescents: prevalence and treatment challenges. Adolescent health, medicine and therapeutics, 9, 11. .
8. 1 in 2 people with bulimia nervosa reported a worsening of quality of life and eating disorder symptoms due to the COVID-19 lockdown ⁸ Schlegl, S., Maier, J., Meule, A., & Voderholzer, U. (2020). Eating disorders in times of the COVID‐19 pandemic—Results from an online survey of patients with anorexia nervosa. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 53(11), 1791-1800 .
9. 40% of people with bulimia nervosa developed new symptoms during the COVID-19 lockdown ⁹ Schlegl, S., Maier, J., Meule, A., & Voderholzer, U. (2020). Eating disorders in times of the COVID‐19 pandemic—Results from an online survey of patients with anorexia nervosa. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 53(11), 1791-1800 .
10. More than 60% of people with bulimia nervosa reported significant symptoms of depression and anxiety due to the lockdown. ¹⁰ Schlegl, S., Maier, J., Meule, A., & Voderholzer, U. (2020). Eating disorders in times of the COVID‐19 pandemic—Results from an online survey of patients with anorexia nervosa. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 53(11), 1791-1800 .
11. People with bulimia nervosa from Taiwan have two times the cost of healthcare expenditure than healthy controls ¹¹ Tseng, M. C. M., Tu, C. Y., & Chang, Y. T. (2021). Healthcare use and costs of adults with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa in Taiwan. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 54(1), 69-80. .
12. 88% of hospital admissions for bulimia nervosa are younger than 40 years ¹² Patel, R. S., Olten, B., Patel, P., Shah, K., & Mansuri, Z. (2018). Hospitalization outcomes and comorbidities of bulimia nervosa: a nationwide inpatient study. Cureus, 10(5). .
13. 92% of hospital admissions for bulimia nervosa are for women ¹³ Patel, R. S., Olten, B., Patel, P., Shah, K., & Mansuri, Z. (2018). Hospitalization outcomes and comorbidities of bulimia nervosa: a nationwide inpatient study. Cureus, 10(5). .
14. Among people hospitalized for bulimia nervosa, the most common psychiatric comorbidity was for schizophrenia (52%) and depression (23%) ¹⁴ Patel, R. S., Olten, B., Patel, P., Shah, K., & Mansuri, Z. (2018). Hospitalization outcomes and comorbidities of bulimia nervosa: a nationwide inpatient study. Cureus, 10(5). .
15. Compared to males, females with bulimia nervosa have three times higher odds of having comorbid diabetes, drug use, depression and hypertension ¹⁵ Patel, R. S., Olten, B., Patel, P., Shah, K., & Mansuri, Z. (2018). Hospitalization outcomes and comorbidities of bulimia nervosa: a nationwide inpatient study. Cureus, 10(5). .
16. The crude mortality rate in inpatient males and females with bulimia nervosa is 8% and 3%, respectively ¹⁶ Fichter, M. M., Naab, S., Voderholzer, U., & Quadflieg, N. (2021). Mortality in males as compared to females treated for an eating disorder: a large prospective controlled study. Eating and Weight Disorders-Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity, 26(5), 1627-1637. .
17. 34% of people with bulimia nervosa also experience night eating syndrome ¹⁷ Tu, C. Y., Tseng, M. C. M., & Chang, C. H. (2019). Night eating syndrome in patients with eating disorders: Is night eating syndrome distinct from bulimia nervosa?. Journal of the Formosan Medical Association, 118(6), 1038-1046. .
18. The standardized mortality ratio for bulimia nervosa has been estimated to be 1.9 ¹⁸Arcelus J, Mitchell AJ, Wales J, et al. Mortality rates in patients with anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders: a meta-analysis of 36 studies. Archives of general psychiatry. 2011;68(7):724-731..
19. 8% may cross-over to a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa and 9% may cross-over to a diagnosis of binge-eating disorder ¹⁹Castellini G, Lo Sauro C, Mannucci E, et al. Diagnostic crossover and outcome predictors in eating disorders according to DSM-IV and DSM-V proposed criteria: A 6-year follow-up study. Psychosomatic Medicine. 2011;73:270-279..
20. 17% who recover from bulimia nervosa after treatment may relapse²⁰Castellini G, Lo Sauro C, Mannucci E, et al. Diagnostic crossover and outcome predictors in eating disorders according to DSM-IV and DSM-V proposed criteria: A 6-year follow-up study. Psychosomatic Medicine. 2011;73:270-279..
21. The average age of onset is 18 years, although the age of onset is declining in more recent studies ²¹Keski-Rahkonen A, Hoek H, Linna M, et al. Incidence and outcomes of bulimia nervosa: a nationwide population-based study. Psychological Medicine. 2009;39:823-831..
22. In some samples, 50% made a full recovery without any treatment at all ²²Fairburn CG, Cooper Z, Doll HA, et al. The natural course of bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder in young women. Archives of General Psychiatry. 2000;57:659-665..
23. 35% of people with bulimia nervosa engage in self-harm behaviours ²³Fairburn CG, Harrison PJ. Eating disorders. The Lancet. 2003;361:407-416..
24. Around 35% are expected to fully recover following psychotherapy ²⁴Linardon J, Wade T. How many individuals achieve symptom abstinence following psychological treatments for bulimia nervosa? A meta-analytic review. International Journal of Eating Disorders. 2018;51:287-294..

Hopefully, this article has provided you with insights into bulimia nervosa and its impact.

Now I’d like to turn it over to you, what was the most surprising or interesting statistic from this article?

Let me know by leaving a comment below.