Incidence, prevalence and demographics
Figures of incidence and prevalence may not present a very accurate picture
as majority of the research has been done only in the western countries. A substantial
number of anorexia nervosa cases may also go unreported as the patients tend
to be secretive.
Initially the occurrence of this disorder was more in the young white population
of developed western countries but since the 1980s the incidence of this disorder
is also gradually increasing in non-western countries. This can be attributed
to the growing influence of the western media on the world population.
Anorexia nervosa predominantly occurs in females and they constitute around
90% of all reported cases. Teenage girls in the age group of fifteen to nineteen
years are the worst affected and they account for 40% of all cases. About 5%
of young adolescent females exhibit partial symptoms and may not meet the full
diagnostic criteria. Only 10% of patients with anorexia nervosa are male.
In western countries prevalence rates of this disorder in females range from
0.1% to 5.7%. In United States lifetime prevalence is estimated at 0.3-1% though
the rates among women may be much higher. Taking an overall view reviews have
suggested an incidence rate of eight to thirteen cases per hundred thousand
people per year.
