Health care claims data indicate a surge in treatment for consuming conditions throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically among youths, a brand-new report suggests.
From 2018 to 2022, healthcare claims for consuming disorders increased 65% nationally as a portion of all medical claims, according to an analysis of more than 43 billion personal healthcare claims performed by the nonprofit FAIR Health.
The age distribution of claims for consuming disorders also altered throughout the study duration. In 2018, individuals aged 19-24 years made up the biggest share, followed by those aged 14-18 years. In 2022, those positions were reversed, with the biggest share falling in the 14- to 18-year-old group and the second biggest in those aged 19-24.
In every year from 2018 to 2022, females accounted for more than 89% of eating disorder claims.
In a declaration, FAIR Health president Robin Gelburd said that the findings in this report have implications for “stakeholders throughout the healthcare spectrum, consisting of eating disorder clients and the providers who treat them, in addition to payors and policy makers.”
These, and other findings, are reported in a FAIR Health white paper– Spotlight on Eating Disorders: An Analysis of Personal Health Care Claims– published online November 15.
Comorbid Mental Health Issues Typical
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated eating disorders, the report found, with inpatient stays for eating conditions increasing compared with other behavioral health conditions. Health center admissions amongst children were particularly inflated.
There is also data to recommend that the pandemic might have added to otherwise healthy individuals developing eating disorders.
According to the brand-new report, claims for all consuming conditions studied increased during the study period, however at different rates. Avoidant limiting food intake condition (ARFID) leapt by 305%, binge-eating disorder by 81%, anorexia by 73%, and bulimia nervosa by 3%.
ARFID was the eating disorder that the majority of affected the youngest age groups (ages 0-9 and 10-13), while binge-eating condition most impacted older age groups (31-65 years).
The analysis also discovered that 72% of clients with an eating disorder had several co-occurring psychological health conditions. Approximately 20% of patients with eating disorders also had a compound use condition, 41% had actually generalized anxiety disorder, and 39% had significant depressive disorder.
During the study duration, clients with eating conditions were 5 times as likely to have a psychological health condition (other than an eating disorder) and more than four times as most likely to have a compound use condition, relative to all clients who got medical services.
Maybe not surprisingly, provided the study period overlap with COVID-19, telehealth use for patients with consuming disorders increased by over 10,000% from 2018 to 2022, making telehealth the most typical location of service for consuming disorders in 2022, the report notes.
“FAIR Health hopes that these findings will also be starting points for additional research on consuming conditions,” Gelburd included.
New information reveal a surge in insurance coverage claims for eating disorders throughout the pandemic years, particularly amongst teenagers.
