2018/08/01 by Helen B. Murray, Jennifer J. Thomas, Andreas Hinz +2
paper · doi:10.1002/eat.22898
Abstract Objective Little epidemiological evidence exists on rumination disorder behavior (RB) and pica behavior (PB). We examined prevalence of RB and PB and presence of comorbid feeding/eating disorder symptoms among school‐aged children. Method In elementary schools in Switzerland, 1,430 children (54.0% female) ages 7–13 completed the Eating Disorder Examination‐Questionnaire for children (ChEDE‐Q) and the Eating Disturbances in Youth Questionnaire (EDY‐Q). Results EDY‐Q behavior frequency showed 9.7% reported RB only, 10.0% reported PB only, and 3.1% reported RB + PB (≥1 on 0–6 Likert scale). At a clinical cut‐off score of ≥ 4, 1.7% had RB only, 3.8% had PB only, and 1.1% had RB + PB. Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder symptoms were most common in those with RB + PB, and more common in those with RB or PB than those without. The degree of eating disorder symptoms (by ChEDE‐Q) over the past 28 days were similar among those with RB, PB, or RB + PB, but less common in those without RB or PB. Discussion RB and PB were commonly reported in our sample of school‐aged children, even at a potential clinically significant cut‐off. Our findings also suggest that the degree of eating disorder symptom comorbidity is similar between those with RB and PB.