Bulimia Nervosa - Epidemiology

Epidemiology

There is little data on the prevalence of bulimia nervosa in-the-large, on general populations. Most studies conducted thus far have been on convenience samples from hospital patients, high school or university students. These have yielded a wide range of results: between 0.1% and 1.4% of males, and between 0.3% and 9.4% of females. Studies on time trends in the prevalence of bulimia nervosa have also yielded inconsistent results. According to Gelder, Mayou and Geddes (2005) bulimia nervosa is prevalent between 1 and 2 per cent of women aged 15–40 years. Bulimia nervosa occurs more frequently in developed countries (Gelder, Mayou and Geddes 2005). There is a perception that bulimia is most prevalent amongst girls from middle-class families, however in a 2009 study girls from families in the lowest income bracket studied were 153 percent more likely to be bulimic than girls from the highest income bracket.