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According to an recent study in General Hospital Psychiatry, a study of women who had eating disorders which included binging and purging were more like to have had a suicide attempt in their history. The study done in Switzerland suggested that regardless of whether the individuals had been diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, bulimia or another eating disorder, there is a clear history of a suicide attempt.
The researchers from University Hospital in Zurich, found that women with anorexia are more likely to have suicidal thoughts than those with bulimia or other eating disorders. They also found that most of the women in the study had other psychiatric disorders besides an eating disorder, including depression, drug or alcohol abuse or anxiety. There seems to be a link between purging and suicide attempts which may be related to issues of impulse control.
In the study, those who reported suicidal thoughts tended to be much younger when their eating disorder appeared and were more fixated on their appearance and fearful of weight gain than those without suicidal thoughts. This study was conducted over a 2 year period and 26 percent of the women diagnosed with some form of eating disorder said they had attempted suicide at least once in the past. This is 4 times higher than in the general female population. The same percentage reported having current suicidal thoughts.
Resources in eating disorders
ANRED
Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders
ANAD
National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders
Eating Disorders - NIMH
Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Patients With Eating Disorders - APA
Recent research in suicide and eating disorders
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