Clinical Characteristics of Korean Male Patients with Eating Disorders / 정신신체의학

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The aims of present study was to investigate clinical characteristics of male patients with eating disorders. METHODS: The present study included 32 male patients with eating disorders and 75 female patients with eating disorders, recruited from an eating disorders specialized clinic in a university hospital, Seoul, Korea. We compared clinical characteristics of eating disorders and comorbid conditions of depression and anxiety between men and women with eating disorders. Correlations between eating disorders psychopathology in men with eating disorders and their weight suppression(WS) were investigated. RESULTS: There was no difference in age at presentation, age of onset, illness duration, and body mass index at presentation between genders. Male patients with eating disorders had higher rates of premorbid overweight or obesity than female patients with eating disorders had. WS in the male patients was associated with the severity of their eating disorders. CONCLUSIONS: The present study provides grounds for improved understanding for clinical features of eating disorders in males.