Could the COVID-19 Pandemic Be a Trigger for Eating Disorders?

The pandemic and the accompanying stress have led to an increase in mental health problems worldwide. An increasing trend has been observed in eating disorders, particularly in adolescents. We aimed to investigate triggering factors in patients whose first application was during the pandemic. In this case series, we examined 4 female patients aged 14-16 years who were diagnosed with eating disorders. We observed that during the COVID-19 pandemic, existing family conflicts worsened with an increase in the time spent at home due to the restrictions. The increase in social media usage and emphasis on healthy nutrition and the decrease in social relations with friends may have triggered the emergence of new eating disorder symptoms. Clinicians should be aware that the stress caused by the pandemic on adolescents may be a trigger for serious psychiatric disorders such as eating disorder.

Cite this article as: Serdengeçti N, Adıyaman F, Sandıkçı T, İncetahtacı S, Aydın A, Cem Tarakçıoğlu M. Could the COVID-19 pandemic be a trigger for eating disorders? Neuropsychiatr Invest. 2023;61(1):37-39.