The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on inpatient admission trends and on inpatient and outpatient specialist services themselves with regard to eating disorders. This is revealed in a study by Dr. Leonardo Mendolicchio, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst director U.O. Rehabilitation of Eating Disorders and Nutrition, together with his research group from the Metabolic Neuroscience Laboratory also at the Italian Auxological Institute, which bears the title "Short- and long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Health Care System for people with eating disorders". In the period between 2019 and 2021, according to the analysis, there has been a significant increase in hospital admissions for eating disorders in Italy, amounting to 59.71 percent, both in the 15-19 age group and in the younger 10-14 age group. These data are in line with European and international trends, as also found in Canada and the United States. A significant increase also emerged in emergency room admissions and the number of hospitalizations, with the prevalence of restrictive eating disorders. Although a peak of new cases was observed in August 2020, followed by a stabilization and subsequent decrease in the second year post pandemic onset, the volume of visits still remains high compared to pre-pandemic levels. Moreover, the increase in eating disorders cases is associated with a 97 percent increase in psychiatric comorbidities, mainly depressive and anxiety disorders.
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