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      Eating disorders in times of the COVID‐19 pandemic—Results from an online survey of patients with anorexia nervosa

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          Abstract

          Objective

          The COVID‐19 pandemic and the resulting public restrictions pose a psychological burden for humans worldwide and may be particularly detrimental for individuals with mental disorders. Therefore, the current study explored effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic on eating disorder (ED) symptoms and other psychological aspects in former inpatients with anorexia nervosa (AN).

          Method

          One‐hundred and fifty‐nine patients with AN—discharged from inpatient treatment in 2019—completed an online survey on contact history with COVID‐19, changes in ED symptoms and other psychological aspects, health care utilization, and strategies patients employed to cope during the pandemic.

          Results

          Approximately 70% of patients reported that eating, shape and weight concerns, drive for physical activity, loneliness, sadness, and inner restlessness increased during the pandemic. Access to in‐person psychotherapies and visits at the general practitioner (including weight checks) decreased by 37% and 46%, respectively. Videoconference therapy was used by 26% and telephone contacts by 35% of patients. Patients experienced daily routines, day planning and enjoyable activities as the most helpful among the most used coping strategies.

          Discussion

          The COVID‐19 pandemic poses great challenges to patients with AN. ED‐related thoughts and behaviors may be used as dysfunctional coping mechanisms to regain control over the current circumstances. E‐mental health interventions appear to be promising for supporting AN patients during these hard times. Furthermore, interventions addressing symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as intolerance of uncertainty might help them manage their ED symptoms.

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          Most cited references15

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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                sandra.schlegl@med.uni-muenchen.de
                Journal
                Int J Eat Disord
                Int J Eat Disord
                10.1002/(ISSN)1098-108X
                EAT
                The International Journal of Eating Disorders
                John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (Hoboken, USA )
                0276-3478
                1098-108X
                25 August 2020
                : 10.1002/eat.23374
                Affiliations
                [ 1 ] Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy University Hospital, Ludwig‐Maximilians‐University Munich Germany
                [ 2 ] Schoen Clinic Roseneck Prien am Chiemsee Germany
                [ 3 ] Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy University Hospital of Freiburg Germany
                Author notes
                [*] [* ] Correspondence

                Sandra Schlegl, University Hospital, Ludwig‐Maximilians‐University, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Nussbaumstrasse 7, 80336 Munich, Germany.

                Email: sandra.schlegl@ 123456med.uni-muenchen.de

                Author information
                https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1791-7379
                https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6639-8977
                https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0261-3145
                Article
                EAT23374
                10.1002/eat.23374
                7461418
                32841413
                2f0a45cb-0b77-410f-8ab4-8fedf8cdb0ec
                © 2020 The Authors. International Journal of Eating Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.

                This is an open access article under the terms of the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                : 21 May 2020
                : 11 August 2020
                : 11 August 2020
                Page count
                Figures: 1, Tables: 3, Pages: 10, Words: 6803
                Categories
                Original Article
                Original Articles
                Custom metadata
                2.0
                corrected-proof
                Converter:WILEY_ML3GV2_TO_JATSPMC version:5.8.8 mode:remove_FC converted:01.09.2020

                Clinical Psychology & Psychiatry
                anorexia nervosa,coping strategies,covid‐19 pandemic,health care utilization,symptoms worsening

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