Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T12:23:15.891Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Anorexia Nervosa in Hong Kong

Why not More in Chinese?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Sing Lee ,
Helen F. K. Chiu  and
Char-Nie Chen
Sing Lee*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT
Helen F. K. Chiu
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT
Char-Nie Chen
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT
*
∗Department of Psychiatry, 11/F Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Anorexia nervosa is a geographically distinct psychiatric disorder; it is rapidly increasing in incidence in Western countries, while being virtually unreported in China, or in the Chinese community of Hong Kong. This is surprising when the Chinese preoccupation with food and their reported readiness to somatise dysphoria are considered. Three Chinese anorectics born and living in Hong Kong and exhibiting mostly typical clinical features are reported. The rarity of the disorder in the East could be related to protective biological and sociocultural factors specific to the Chinese, and while it may become more common, anorexia nervosa is unlikely to reach Western proportions.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 154 , Issue 5 , May 1989 , pp. 683 - 688
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1989 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (1987) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd edn, revised) (DSM-III-R). Washington, DC: APA.Google Scholar
Benaim, S., Horder, J. & Anderson, J. (1973) Hysterical epidemic in a classroom. Psychological Medicine, 3, 366–373.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bond, M. H. & Hwant, K. K. (1986) The social psychology of Chinese people. In The psychology of the Chinese people (ed. Bond, M. H.), ch. 6. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Bruch, H. (1978) The Golden Cage. The Enigma of Anorexia Nervosa. London: Open Books.Google Scholar
Bruch, H. (1982) Anorexia nervosa: therapy and theory. American Journal of Psychiatry, 139, 1531–1538.Google ScholarPubMed
Buchan, T. & Gregory, L. D. (1984) Anorexia nervosa in a black Zimbabwean. British Journal of Psychiatry, 145, 326–330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buhrich, N. (1981) Frequency of presentation of anorexia nervosa in Malaysia. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 15, 153–155.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cheung, F. M. & Lee, P. L. M. (1984) Anxiety among secondary school students in Hong Kong and its relationship with academic performance. Chinese University of Hong Kong Education Journal, 12, 56–63.Google Scholar
Crisp, A. H. (1980) Anorexia Nervosa: Let Me Be. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Dally, P. & Gomez, J. (1980) Obesity and Anorexia Nervosa: a Question of Shape. London: Faber and Faber.Google Scholar
Fichter, M. M., Meister, I. & Koch, H. J. (1986) The measurement of body image disturbances in anorexia nervosa – experimental comparison of different methods. British Journal of Psychiatry, 148, 453–461.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Furnham, A. & Alibhai, N. (1983) Cross-cultural differences in the perception of female body shapes. Psychological Medicine, 13, 829–837.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garfinkel, P. E. & Garner, D. M. (1982) Anorexia Nervosa – a Multidimensional Perspective. New York: Brunner-Mazel.Google Scholar
Garner, D. M. & Garfinkel, P. E. (1980) Socio-cultural factors in the development of anorexia nervosa. Psychological Medicine, 10, 647–656.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hindler, C. G. & Norris, D. L. (1986) A case of anorexia nervosa with Klinefelter's syndrome. British Journal of Psychiatry, 149, 659–660.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ho, Y. F. D. (1986) Chinese patterns of socialization: a critical review. In The Psychology of the Chinese People (ed. Bond, M. H.), ch. 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Holden, N. L. & Robinson, P. H. (1988) Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa in British Blacks. British Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 544–549.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hsu, L. K. G. (1980) Outcome of anorexia nervosa: a review of the literature (1954 to 1978). Archives of General Psychiatry, 37, 1041–1046.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hsu, L. K. G. (1982) Is there a disturbance in body image in anorexia nervosa? Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 170, 305–307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hsu, L. K. G. (1983) The etiology of anorexia nervosa. Psychological Medicine, 13, 231–238.Google ScholarPubMed
Irwin, M. (1981) Diagnosis of anorexia nervosa in children and the validity of DSM III. American Journal of Psychiatry, 138, 1382–1383.Google ScholarPubMed
Jacobs, B. W. & Issacs, S. (1986) Pre-pubertal anorexia nervosa: a retrospective controlled study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 27, 237–250.Google ScholarPubMed
Kleinman, A. M. (1977) Depression, somatization and the “new cross-cultural” psychiatry. Social Science and Medicine, 11, 3–11.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kleinman, A. M. (1980) Patients and Healers in the Context of Culture. Berkeley, California: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koo, C. L. (1984) The use of food to treat and prevent disease in Chinese culture. Social Science and Medicine, 18, 757–766.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Larocca, F. E. F. (1985) Concurrence of Turner's syndrome, anorexia nervosa and mood disorders: case report. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 46, 296–297.Google ScholarPubMed
Lasegue, C. (1873) De l'anorexia hysterique. Archives of General Medicine, 21, 385.Google Scholar
Law, S. K. (1978) Urban-rural differences in student mental health: the Hong Kong scene. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 12, 277–281.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Law, S. K. (1979) Common child psychiatric problems in the school setting. Hong Kong Journal of Mental Health, 8, 25–27.Google Scholar
Lucas, A. R. (1981) Toward the understanding of anorexia nervosa as a disease entity. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 56, 254–264.Google ScholarPubMed
Marco, J. L. (1987) Anorexia nervosa in males: a comparison with female patients. British Journal of Psychiatry, 151, 80–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merskey, H. (1979) The Analysis of Hysteria. London: Bailliere Tindall.Google Scholar
Minuchin, S., Rosman, B. & Baker, L. (1978) Psychosomatic Families: Anorexia Nervosa in Context. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Piazza, E., Piazza, N. & Rollins, N. (1980) Anorexia nervosa: controversial aspects of therapy. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 21, 177–189.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pope, H. G. Jr, Champoux, R. F. & Hudson, J. I. (1987) Eating disorder and socioeconomic class: anorexia nervosa and bulimia in nine communities. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 175, 620–623.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Powers, P. S. (1980) Obesity: The Regulation of Weight. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.Google Scholar
Powers, P. S. & Fernandez, R. C. (1984) Introduction. In Current Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia (eds Power, P. S. & Fernandez, R. C.), pp. 1–17. Basel: Karger Biobehavioural Medicine Series.Google Scholar
Pumariega, A. J. (1986) Acculturation and eating attitudes in adolescent girls: a comparative and correlational study. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 25, 276–279.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pumariega, A. J., Edwards, P. & Mitchell, C. B. (1984) Anorexia nervosa in black adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 23, 111–114.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rampling, D. (1980) Abnormal mothering in the genesis of anorexia nervosa. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 168, 501–504.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rin, H., Chu, H. M. & Lin, T. Y. (1966) Psychophysiological reactions of a rural and suburban area in Taiwan. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 42, 410–473.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ritenbaugh, C. (1982) Obesity as a culture-bound syndrome. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, 6, 347–361.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sollenberger, R. T. (1968) Chinese-American child rearing practices and juvenile delinquency. Journal of Social Psychology, 74, 13–17.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Suematsu, H., Ishikawa, H., Kuboki, T., et al (1985) Statistical studies on anorexia nervosa in Japan: detailed clinical data on 1011 patients. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 43, 96–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Szmukler, G. I. (1985) The epidemiology of anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 19, 143–153.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thomas, J. P. & Szmukler, G. I. (1985) Anorexia nervosa in patients of Afro-Caribbean extraction. British Journal of Psychiatry, 146, 635–656.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yager, J., Hatton, C. A. & Ma, L. (1986) Anorexia nervosa in a woman totally blind since the age of two. British Journal of Psychiatry, 149, 506–509.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zheng, Y. M. (1982) The psychotherapy of child anorexia nervosa – a follow-up study of a case for 23 years. Chinese Journal of Neurology & Psychiatry, 15, 46–48.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.