SUICIDALITY IN EATING DISORDERS - CLINICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CORRELATES

Although many authors have described eating disorders as often being a ssociated with suicidal feelings and behaviour, few studies to date ha ve evaluated the prevalence and characteristics of suicidal behaviour in eating disordered patients. In the present study, in which a consec utive series of 495 out-patients was studied, 13% of the patients repo rted at least one suicide attempt and 29% reported current suicidal id eation; 26% of attempters reported multiple attempts. A history of sui cide attempt was more prevalent among binge-eating/purging anorexics a nd among purging bulimics than in the other subgroups In cases with an orexia nervosa, suicide attempters were older, had a longer illness du ration, weighed less, had more: often used drugs and/or alcohol and te nded to be more obsessive than non-attempters. In cases with bulimia n ervosa, attempters presented with more psychiatric symptoms and had mo re frequently been sexually abused.