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Abstract
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Eating disorders are a pressing public health problem due to their strong associations with other mental illnesses, high mortality rates and suicidal tendencies.
OBJECTIVE. To study suicidal behavior in girls with eating disorders (ED) and subthreshold eating disorders (SED). Material and methods. 917 girls aged 12--17 years (mean age 14.6±1.3 years) were examined, of whom 397 (43.3%) adolescents belonged to the younger age group (43.3%), to the older (15--17 years) -- 520 (56.7%). The screening questionnaire "Thoughts about your own body" was used, consisting of 11 questions, combined into three blocks. The first block included questions that reveal dissatisfaction with one's body, the second block assessed the symptoms of eating disorders, and the third -- the symp- toms of eating disorders. There were 3 options for each question: "not true", "partly true", "true", which were coded as "1", "2","3". The adolescents who scored 12 points in the total of answers to the 1st block were regarded as dissatisfied with their bod- ies and were further divided into two groups: The 1st group (ED) included the girls who scored more than 10 points in the total of responses to the 2nd block, in the 2nd group (SED) -- girls who scored less than 10 points. Body mass index was determined by weight-for-height coefficient with further interpretation according to percentile tables. Suicidal behavior was studied by the pres- ence of intentional self-harm, suicidal thoughts and suicidal attempts.
RESULTS. Self-harm was observed in 55% of girls with ED, in 35.2% -- with SED, and in 20.2% -- from the control group (p<0.001). Suicidal ideation was found in 65% of girls with ED, in 51.1% -- with SED, and in 27.2% -- from the control group (p<0.001). Suicidal attempts were recorded in 45% of adolescents with ED, in 17.1% with SED, and in 7.5% of the control group.
CONCLUSION. In girls with eating disorders of both the threshold and subthreshold levels, suicidal manifestations are recorded much more often: Self-harm -- from 2.7 to 4.5 times, suicidal ideation -- from 1.9 to 2.4 times, and suicidal attempts -- from 2, 3 to 6.0 times. © 2021, Media Sphera Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
Language: ru |