Eating Disorders Risk and Associated Factors in female adolescents and young adults in the Gulf region

Abstract

Introduction: eating disorders are serious psychological conditions rapidly emerging in non-Western countries and epidemiological studies in the Gulf region are limited. This systematic review and meta-analysis was aiming to investigate EDs risk and factors related to aetiology. Methodology: database searches were conducted on PubMed, Google Scholar and Medline. Inverse variance was performed on the meta-analysis to estimate pooled EDs risk in female adolescents and young adults in addition to subgroup analysis to find prevalence among Saudis and Emirates separately. Results: a total of 26 studies were included in this systematic review and 21 of which were included in the meta-analysis. Results indicate that 36% of female adolescents and 30% of female young adults are at risk of eating disorders in the Gulf region. Secondary analysis indicated that Saudi and Emirati females are at high risk of EDs. The most identified pathological factors were: westernization, peer and family pressure, stigma and teasing. Conclusions: eating disorders are a global phenomenon that is witnessing an emergence in non-Western countries. Female adolescents and young adults are particularly at risk in the Gulf region with shared factors contributing to onset across different ethnicities. Further research is needed in the region to understand the disorders and raise more awareness