A Multicenter Retrospective Study on Anorexia Nervosa and Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder in Japan: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

After the COVID-19 pandemic, patients with eating disorders have been reported that social isolation, worsening of symptoms, and an increase in new patients and hospitalization. We investigated the number of new patients and hospitalized patients with AN and ARIFD, sex, and age groups in Japan in 2019, 2020, and 2021. The current study is a multicenter retrospective survey. The Ethics Dokkyo Medical University Committee approved this study, conducted at Saitama Medical Center (22001). Results from 28 centers that responded to all items were tabulated and analyzed. The total number of hospitalized/new patients with AN was 266/400 in 2019, 266/480 in 2020, and 309/610 in 2021. The total number of hospitalized/new patients with ARFID patients was 15/70 in 2019, 22/97 in 2020, and 17/112 in 2021. Both AN and ARFID showed an increasing trend in 2020 and 2021 compared to 2019; interestingly, the number of patients increased in 2021 compared to 2020. The increase in AN and ARFID was more pronounced among younger females, which supported previous reports. On the other hand, hospitalization rates decreased chronologically. The fact of many ARFID patients may have increased after the pandemic, compared to previous reports, is a novel finding.