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. 2022 Oct 17;31:e73. doi: 10.1017/S204579602200052X

Table 1.

Comparison of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics between patients with AN, BN or USED and respective matched controls

AN patients (N = 8108) AN controls (N = 32 432) BN patients (N = 5485) BN controls (N = 21 940) USED patients (N = 7166) USED controls (N = 28 664)
Sociodemographic characteristics
N % N % p N % N % p N % N % p
Age groupa 1.00 1.00 1.00
<18 years 4117 50.8 16 468 50.8 836 15.2 3344 15.2 3107 43.4 12 428 43.4
18–30 years 3605 44.5 14 420 44.5 4085 74.0 16 232 74.0 3295 46.0 13 180 46.0
>30 years 386 4.8 1544 4.8 591 10.8 2364 10.8 764 10.7 3056 10.7
Sexa 1.00 1.00 1.00
Male 514 6.3 2056 6.3 127 2.3 508 2.3 774 10.8 3096 10.8
Female 7594 93.7 30 376 93.7 5358 97.7 21 432 97.7 6392 89.2 25 568 89.2
Ethnicitya 1.00 1.00 1.00
Danish 7694 94.9 30 776 94.9 5188 94.6 20 752 94.6 6681 93.2 26 724 93.2
Immigrant or descendent 414 5.1 1656 5.1 297 5.4 1188 5.4 485 6.8 1940 6.8
Cohabiting status <0.001 <0.001 <0.001
Cohabiting 1847 22.8 9574 29.5 1825 33.3 11 020 50.2 1784 24.9 9891 34.5
Living alone 2139 26.4 6390 19.7 2820 51.5 7576 34.5 2270 31.7 6345 22.1
Under age 18 and living with a caregiver 4117 50.8 16 468 50.8 836 15.3 3344 15.2 3107 43.4 12 428 43.4
Highest achieved education <0.001 0.48 <0.001
Primary/unknown 2351 29.2 9449 29.3 287 5.3 1106 5.1 1821 25.5 7162 25.2
Lower secondary 3968 49.2 15 035 46.6 2420 44.4 9857 45.3 3482 48.7 12 313 43.2
Upper secondary or higher 1745 21.6 7749 24.0 2744 50.3 10 806 49.6 1841 25.8 8998 31.6
Employment status at the index date <0.001 <0.001 <0.001
Employed 1179 14.5 6594 20.3 1.684 30.7 8917 40.6 1258 17.6 7685 26.8
Unemployed 675 8.3 1304 4.0 701 12.8 1761 8.0 921 12.9 1326 4.6
Other 6254 77.1 24 534 75.6 3100 56.5 11 262 51.3 4.987 69.6 19 653 68.6
Mean s.d. Mean s.d. p Mean s.d. Mean s.d. p Mean s.d. Mean s.d. p
Age (years)a 18.8 5.7 18.8 5.7 1.00 23.0 5.7 23.0 5.7 1.00 20.3 7.2 20.3 7.2 1.00
Substance use disorder characteristics
N % N % p N % N % p N % N % p
Any SUD 676 8.3 917 2.8 <0.001 602 11.0 568 2.6 <0.001 815 11.4 791 2.8 <0.001
Alcohol abuse/dependence 305 3.8 312 1.0 <0.001 332 6.1 249 1.1 <0.001 345 4.8 274 1.0 <0.001
Cannabis abuse/dependence 298 3.7 453 1.4 <0.001 194 3.5 231 1.1 <0.001 394 5.5 381 1.3 <0.001
Hard drug abuse/dependenceb 299 3.7 426 1.3 <0.001 281 5.1 275 1.3 <0.001 387 5.4 366 1.3 <0.001
Timing of SUD diagnosisc <0.001 <0.001 <0.001
SUD predates ED by more than 1 year 131 19.4 155 16.9 109 18.1 181 31.9 195 23.9 209 26.4
SUD and ED diagnosed within the same year 144 21.3 95 10.4 154 25.6 51 9.0 226 27.7 95 12.0
ED predates SUD by more than 1 year 401 59.3 667 72.7 339 56.3 336 59.2 394 48.3 487 61.6
Mean s.d. Mean s.d. p Mean s.d. Mean s.d. p Mean s.d. Mean s.d. p
Age at first SUD diagnosis (years)
Alcohol abuse/dependence 26.6 8.1 26.1 7.7 0.48 29.1 7.6 29.3 8.0 0.74 26.6 7.7 25.9 8.1 0.31
Cannabis abuse/dependence 22.4 5.5 21.4 5.3 0.016 23.7 5.8 24.0 6.1 0.62 22.2 5.8 21.4 5.0 0.062
Hard drug abuse/dependence 23.0 6.3 22.5 5.7 0.30 25.2 7.0 24.5 6.5 0.27 23.6 6.3 22.5 5.2 0.006
ICD-10 somatic disorders
N % N % p N % N % p N % N % p
At least one somatic disorder after the index date 7408 91.4 27 491 84.8 <0.001 5180 94.4 19 827 90.4 <0.001 6564 91.6 23 466 81.9 <0.001
Infectious diseases (A00-B99) 950 11.7 2437 7.5 <0.001 710 12.9 1632 7.4 <0.001 810 11.3 1908 6.7 <0.001
Neoplasms (C00-D48) 675 8.3 2221 6.8 <0.001 594 10.8 2193 10.0 0.067 518 7.2 1823 6.4 0.008
Haematological diseases (D50-D89) 252 3.1 560 1.7 <0.001 164 3.0 475 2.2 <0.001 217 3.0 433 1.5 <0.001
Endocrine diseases (E00-E90) 1038 12.8 2177 6.7 <0.001 759 13.8 1854 8.5 <0.001 1060 14.8 1762 6.1 <0.001
Neurological diseases (G00-H95) 1401 17.3 4256 13.1 <0.001 1128 20.6 3304 15.1 <0.001 1395 19.5 3397 11.9 <0.001
Circulatory diseases (I00-I99) 629 7.8 1603 4.9 <0.001 539 9.8 1575 7.2 <0.001 516 7.2 1332 4.6 <0.001
Respiratory diseases (J00-J99) 1229 15.2 3995 12.3 <0.001 866 15.8 2650 12.1 <0.001 1135 15.8 3000 10.5 <0.001
Gastrointestinal diseases (K00-K93) 1940 23.9 5396 16.6 <0.001 1454 26.5 4122 18.8 <0.001 1795 25.0 4255 14.8 <0.001
Dermatological diseases (L00-L99) 1044 12.9 2787 8.6 <0.001 739 13.5 2128 9.7 <0.001 837 11.7 2215 7.7 <0.001
Musculoskeletal diseases (M00-M99) 2402 29.6 7624 23.5 <0.001 1732 31.6 5706 26.0 <0.001 2038 28.4 5924 20.7 <0.001
Genitourinary diseases (N00-N99) 2440 30.1 7599 23.4 <0.001 2063 37.6 6793 31.0 <0.001 2087 29.1 6114 21.3 <0.001
Follow-up
Median IQR Median IQR p Median IQR Median IQR p Median IQR Median IQR p
Follow-up time (years) 10.5 6.5, 16.1 10.6 6.5, 16.2 0.29 12.2 7.1, 18.0 12.2 7.2, 18.1 0.51 8.6 5.4, 13.7 8.7 5.5, 13.9 0.11
Mortality
N % N % p N % N % p N % N % p
Deaths during follow-up 115 1.4 114 0.4 <0.001 53 1.0 117 0.5 <0.001 126 1.8 92 0.3 <0.001
Mean s.d. Mean s.d. p Mean s.d. Mean s.d. p Mean s.d. Mean s.d. p
Age at death 30.1 8.5 29.9 8.3 0.83 30.7 7.7 32.7 7.5 0.12 30.9 8.7 30.2 9.7 0.57

AN, anorexia nervosa; BN, bulimia nervosa; IQR, interquartile range; s.d., standard deviation; SUD, substance use disorder; USED, unspecified eating disorder.

a

Matching variable.

b

The hard drugs category includes heroin and other opioids, sedative-hypnotics, cocaine and other stimulants, multiple substances and other psychoactive substances (e.g. hallucinogens, volatile solvents and designer drugs).

c

The timing of first SUD diagnosis among individuals in the control group was determined from the index date of the eating disorder patients to whom they were matched.