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Anorexia Nervosa in a Swedish Urban Region

A Population-Based Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Maria Råstam
Affiliation:
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Göteborg, Box 17113, S-402 61 Göteborg, Sweden
Christopher Gillberg
Affiliation:
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Göteborg, Box 17113, S-402 61 Göteborg, Sweden
Maja Garton
Affiliation:
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Göteborg, Box 17113, S-402 61 Göteborg, Sweden

Abstract

The total population of 15-year-olds in Göteborg, Sweden, were screened in 1985 for anorexia nervosa using brief questionnaires, growth charts and individual school nurse reports. An accumulated frequency of anorexia of 0.84% for girls up to and including 15 years of age was obtained, with 85% of the cases fulfilling DSM–III–R criteria. Boys were affected just over one-tenth as often as girls. The frequency of anorexia nervosa appeared to be much higher in private than in comprehensive schools. The peak age of onset seemed to be 14 years.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1989 

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