Medical residents and eating disorders: an investigation of prevalence and correlates in hospital settings in Damascus

Abstract Objective To study how common are disordered eating behaviors among medical residents in different specialties and how certain preceding factors might contribute to that risk. Methods Self-administered questionnaires were administered to residents from each year and specialty using the Eati...

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Main Authors: Lujain Nahas, Jameel Soqia, Lama Mohamad, Laila Yakoub Agha, Mehdy Nahas, Bayan Alsaid
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-07-01
Series:BioPsychoSocial Medicine
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13030-025-00330-2
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author Lujain Nahas
Jameel Soqia
Lama Mohamad
Laila Yakoub Agha
Mehdy Nahas
Bayan Alsaid
author_facet Lujain Nahas
Jameel Soqia
Lama Mohamad
Laila Yakoub Agha
Mehdy Nahas
Bayan Alsaid
author_sort Lujain Nahas
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Objective To study how common are disordered eating behaviors among medical residents in different specialties and how certain preceding factors might contribute to that risk. Methods Self-administered questionnaires were administered to residents from each year and specialty using the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26) and the Sick, Control, One, Fat, Food (SCOFF) questionnaires. We used binary logistic regression to study the relationship between individuals at high risk and possible triggers of eating disorders. Results Among the 399 participants, the risk of disordered eating behavior was 8% using the EAT-26 and 14.3% using SCOFF. There was no difference in the risk according to sex or specialty except for dermatology (p = 0.004). BMI was also among the affecting factors (p < 0.05), in addition to a positive family and personal history of mental disorders (p < 0.001). Recent exposure to stressors, living and marital status did not prove to affect risk. Conclusion We found that a percentage of medical residents in different specialties are at greater risk for developing eating disorders and exhibit alarming behaviors related to feeding habits. This risk stems from a number of variables, a few of which were studied in this article. Our results demonstrate a need for better awareness of mental health.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1751-0759
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publishDate 2025-07-01
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series BioPsychoSocial Medicine
spelling doaj-art-ab033849cec74bc8baf21e1948232ba72025-08-20T03:43:22ZengBMCBioPsychoSocial Medicine1751-07592025-07-011911810.1186/s13030-025-00330-2Medical residents and eating disorders: an investigation of prevalence and correlates in hospital settings in DamascusLujain Nahas0Jameel Soqia1Lama Mohamad2Laila Yakoub Agha3Mehdy Nahas4Bayan Alsaid5Faculty of Medicine, Damascus UniversityFaculty of Medicine, Damascus UniversityFaculty of Medicine, Damascus UniversityFaculty of Medicine, Damascus UniversityFaculty of Medicine, Damascus UniversityLaboratory of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of DamascusAbstract Objective To study how common are disordered eating behaviors among medical residents in different specialties and how certain preceding factors might contribute to that risk. Methods Self-administered questionnaires were administered to residents from each year and specialty using the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26) and the Sick, Control, One, Fat, Food (SCOFF) questionnaires. We used binary logistic regression to study the relationship between individuals at high risk and possible triggers of eating disorders. Results Among the 399 participants, the risk of disordered eating behavior was 8% using the EAT-26 and 14.3% using SCOFF. There was no difference in the risk according to sex or specialty except for dermatology (p = 0.004). BMI was also among the affecting factors (p < 0.05), in addition to a positive family and personal history of mental disorders (p < 0.001). Recent exposure to stressors, living and marital status did not prove to affect risk. Conclusion We found that a percentage of medical residents in different specialties are at greater risk for developing eating disorders and exhibit alarming behaviors related to feeding habits. This risk stems from a number of variables, a few of which were studied in this article. Our results demonstrate a need for better awareness of mental health.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13030-025-00330-2Eating disordersMedical residentsEating behaviorsBMIRisk factors
spellingShingle Lujain Nahas
Jameel Soqia
Lama Mohamad
Laila Yakoub Agha
Mehdy Nahas
Bayan Alsaid
Medical residents and eating disorders: an investigation of prevalence and correlates in hospital settings in Damascus
BioPsychoSocial Medicine
Eating disorders
Medical residents
Eating behaviors
BMI
Risk factors
title Medical residents and eating disorders: an investigation of prevalence and correlates in hospital settings in Damascus
title_full Medical residents and eating disorders: an investigation of prevalence and correlates in hospital settings in Damascus
title_fullStr Medical residents and eating disorders: an investigation of prevalence and correlates in hospital settings in Damascus
title_full_unstemmed Medical residents and eating disorders: an investigation of prevalence and correlates in hospital settings in Damascus
title_short Medical residents and eating disorders: an investigation of prevalence and correlates in hospital settings in Damascus
title_sort medical residents and eating disorders an investigation of prevalence and correlates in hospital settings in damascus
topic Eating disorders
Medical residents
Eating behaviors
BMI
Risk factors
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s13030-025-00330-2
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