Screening of the Risk of Eating Disorders Among Medical Students in the MENA region and Its Associated Factors: A Multinational Cross‐Sectional Study
ABSTRACT Background Eating disorders (EDs) are a group of mental diseases marked by disrupted eating behaviors, and are associated with several factors. Medical students are highly exposed to this mental disorder with a prevalence of 17.35% in 2022. Objective To evaluate the risk of EDs and its asso...
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Wiley
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Brain and Behavior |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.70417 |
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| author | Siwar Belhaj Salem Fatima Ezzahraa El Idrissi Ahmed Fikry mohamed Husam Khrais Rawan Elwalid Jad Umair Ul Haq Jaafer Ammar Jouini Ramla Mohamed Farah Roble Ronahy Haidar Fatma Zaouali Abdullah Janem Hossam Salameh Ruzan Jamaleddin Alaa Mohamed Elsayed Fidha Hussain Yasmine Adel Mohammed Abeer Hagali Zeyad Yassin Shahd Almansour Farah Bahsas Dana AlMahder Muhammad Shoaib Khan |
| author_facet | Siwar Belhaj Salem Fatima Ezzahraa El Idrissi Ahmed Fikry mohamed Husam Khrais Rawan Elwalid Jad Umair Ul Haq Jaafer Ammar Jouini Ramla Mohamed Farah Roble Ronahy Haidar Fatma Zaouali Abdullah Janem Hossam Salameh Ruzan Jamaleddin Alaa Mohamed Elsayed Fidha Hussain Yasmine Adel Mohammed Abeer Hagali Zeyad Yassin Shahd Almansour Farah Bahsas Dana AlMahder Muhammad Shoaib Khan |
| author_sort | Siwar Belhaj Salem |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Background Eating disorders (EDs) are a group of mental diseases marked by disrupted eating behaviors, and are associated with several factors. Medical students are highly exposed to this mental disorder with a prevalence of 17.35% in 2022. Objective To evaluate the risk of EDs and its associated factors among medical students in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Methods A web‐based cross‐sectional study was conducted among medical students in the MENA region during the months of June and July 2024. The primary data collection instrument was a comprehensive questionnaire that contained the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT‐26) and sociodemographic and clinical features and designed using Google Forms and distributed via social media platforms. Results The total number of participants was 5061. The mean age in our population was 22.58 ± 3.27. Our population's average EAT‐26 score was 13.87 ± 10.7, with ranges varying from 0 to 72. Based on their EAT‐26 scores being 20 or above, 1254 people (24.8%) were deemed to be at risk of EDs. Among the participants, 8% were underweight. The multivariable logistic regression model revealed several eating disorder risk factors such as T1DM, schizophrenia, autism, female gender, IBD, and daily exposure to thin body ideal. Regular sports practice and weight satisfaction were protective factors. Conclusion There exists a higher prevalence of individuals at risk for the development of EDs in the MENA region especially females, students with comorbidities, and those having conflictual relationships with their parents. Regular sports practice and weight satisfaction are protective factors. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ffda3aca7237404083ad1a9e9b7b0ccf |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2162-3279 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Brain and Behavior |
| spelling | doaj-art-ffda3aca7237404083ad1a9e9b7b0ccf2025-08-20T03:08:36ZengWileyBrain and Behavior2162-32792025-03-01153n/an/a10.1002/brb3.70417Screening of the Risk of Eating Disorders Among Medical Students in the MENA region and Its Associated Factors: A Multinational Cross‐Sectional StudySiwar Belhaj Salem0Fatima Ezzahraa El Idrissi1Ahmed Fikry mohamed2Husam Khrais3Rawan Elwalid Jad4Umair Ul Haq5Jaafer Ammar Jouini6Ramla Mohamed Farah Roble7Ronahy Haidar8Fatma Zaouali9Abdullah Janem10Hossam Salameh11Ruzan Jamaleddin12Alaa Mohamed Elsayed13Fidha Hussain14Yasmine Adel Mohammed15Abeer Hagali16Zeyad Yassin17Shahd Almansour18Farah Bahsas19Dana AlMahder20Muhammad Shoaib Khan21Department of Family Medicine Faculty of Medicine of Monastir Monastir TunisiaFaculty of Medicine Pharmacy and Dental Medicine of Fez ‐ Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah University Fez MoroccoFaculty of Medicine South Valley University Qena EgyptFaculty of Medicine at Hashemite University Zarqa JordanInternational Medical University Kuala Lumpur MalaysiaBannu Medical College Bannu PakistanFaculty of Medicine Damascus University Damascus SyriaSchool of Medicine Ahfad University for Women Omdurman SudanFaculty of Medicine University of Aleppo Aleppo SyriaDepartment of Family Medicine Faculty of Medicine of Monastir Monastir TunisiaDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences An‐Najah National University Nablus PalestineDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences An‐Najah National University Nablus PalestineDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences An‐Najah National University Nablus PalestineFaculty of Medicine Menofia University Menofia EgyptDepartment of Oncology Northampton General Hospital Northampton UKDepartment of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine Assiut University Assiut EgyptFaculty of Medicine University of Medical Sciences and Technology Khartoum SudanFaculty of Medicine Alazhar University Cairo EgyptFaculty of Medicine Homs University Homs SyriaFaculty of Medicine Homs University Homs SyriaFaculty of Medicine Damascus University Damascus SyriaBannu Medical College Bannu PakistanABSTRACT Background Eating disorders (EDs) are a group of mental diseases marked by disrupted eating behaviors, and are associated with several factors. Medical students are highly exposed to this mental disorder with a prevalence of 17.35% in 2022. Objective To evaluate the risk of EDs and its associated factors among medical students in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Methods A web‐based cross‐sectional study was conducted among medical students in the MENA region during the months of June and July 2024. The primary data collection instrument was a comprehensive questionnaire that contained the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT‐26) and sociodemographic and clinical features and designed using Google Forms and distributed via social media platforms. Results The total number of participants was 5061. The mean age in our population was 22.58 ± 3.27. Our population's average EAT‐26 score was 13.87 ± 10.7, with ranges varying from 0 to 72. Based on their EAT‐26 scores being 20 or above, 1254 people (24.8%) were deemed to be at risk of EDs. Among the participants, 8% were underweight. The multivariable logistic regression model revealed several eating disorder risk factors such as T1DM, schizophrenia, autism, female gender, IBD, and daily exposure to thin body ideal. Regular sports practice and weight satisfaction were protective factors. Conclusion There exists a higher prevalence of individuals at risk for the development of EDs in the MENA region especially females, students with comorbidities, and those having conflictual relationships with their parents. Regular sports practice and weight satisfaction are protective factors.https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.70417anorexia nervosabulimia nervosafeeding and eating disordersmedical studentsMENAprevalence |
| spellingShingle | Siwar Belhaj Salem Fatima Ezzahraa El Idrissi Ahmed Fikry mohamed Husam Khrais Rawan Elwalid Jad Umair Ul Haq Jaafer Ammar Jouini Ramla Mohamed Farah Roble Ronahy Haidar Fatma Zaouali Abdullah Janem Hossam Salameh Ruzan Jamaleddin Alaa Mohamed Elsayed Fidha Hussain Yasmine Adel Mohammed Abeer Hagali Zeyad Yassin Shahd Almansour Farah Bahsas Dana AlMahder Muhammad Shoaib Khan Screening of the Risk of Eating Disorders Among Medical Students in the MENA region and Its Associated Factors: A Multinational Cross‐Sectional Study Brain and Behavior anorexia nervosa bulimia nervosa feeding and eating disorders medical students MENA prevalence |
| title | Screening of the Risk of Eating Disorders Among Medical Students in the MENA region and Its Associated Factors: A Multinational Cross‐Sectional Study |
| title_full | Screening of the Risk of Eating Disorders Among Medical Students in the MENA region and Its Associated Factors: A Multinational Cross‐Sectional Study |
| title_fullStr | Screening of the Risk of Eating Disorders Among Medical Students in the MENA region and Its Associated Factors: A Multinational Cross‐Sectional Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Screening of the Risk of Eating Disorders Among Medical Students in the MENA region and Its Associated Factors: A Multinational Cross‐Sectional Study |
| title_short | Screening of the Risk of Eating Disorders Among Medical Students in the MENA region and Its Associated Factors: A Multinational Cross‐Sectional Study |
| title_sort | screening of the risk of eating disorders among medical students in the mena region and its associated factors a multinational cross sectional study |
| topic | anorexia nervosa bulimia nervosa feeding and eating disorders medical students MENA prevalence |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.70417 |
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