The Prevalence of Children and Adolescents at Risk for Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder in a Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology Clinic

• Published in: Journal of pediatric & adolescent gynecology 2020-10, Vol.33 (5), p.466-469
• Main Authors: Goldberg, Hanna R., Katzman, Debra K., Allen, Lisa, Martin, Samantha, Sheehan, Carolyn, Kaiserman, Jenna, Macdonald, Gina, Kives, Sari
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abnormal uterine bleeding; Adolescent; Adolescents; Ambulatory Care Facilities - statistics & numerical data; Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder; Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID); Child; Children; Cross-Sectional Studies; Eating disorder; Female; Gynecology - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Pediatric gynecology; Risk Assessment; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 1083-3188; 1873-4332
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpag.2020.06.004

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of child and adolescent females at risk for Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) in a tertiary care pediatric and adolescent gynecology (PAG) clinic. Cross-sectional study design. Tertiary care PAG clinic at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Females between 8 and 18 years of age presenting to the tertiary care PAG clinic. Between October 2017 and April 2019, eligible patients completed a 3-part, self-administered questionnaire that included demographic and anthropometric information, reason(s) for referral, medical history, menstrual history and function, and the Eating Disorders in Youth−Questionnaire (EDY-Q). The main outcome measure was the prevalence of child and adolescent females who were identified to be at risk for ARFID in a tertiary care PAG clinic. Seven (3.7%) of 190 patients were identified to be at risk for ARFID based on the EDY-Q. All patients at risk for ARFID had a significantly lower body mass index (17.4 ± 1.6 vs 24.4 ± 6.7, P