• Jaime A Coffino, Tomoko Udo, and Carlos M Grilo.
• Department of Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY; Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT. Electronic address: jcoffino@albany.edu.
• Mayo Clin. Proc. 2019 Aug 1; 94 (8): 1415-1426.

ObjectiveTo investigate, in a nationally representative sample of US adults, the prevalence of help-seeking in individuals with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) eating disorders (EDs) and to examine sex and ethnic/racial differences.Patients And MethodsThe 2012-2013 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (N=36,309) included respondents who met the criteria for specific lifetime DSM-5 EDs and answered questions regarding help-seeking for their ED symptoms (anorexia nervosa [AN]: n=275; bulimia nervosa [BN]: n=91; and binge-eating disorder [BED]: n=256).ResultsThe prevalence (standard error) estimates of ever seeking any help for AN, BN, and BED were 34.5% (2.80%), 62.6% (5.36%), and 49.0% (3.74%), respectively. Adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, men and ethnic/racial minorities (non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics) were statistically significantly less likely to ever seek help for BED than were women or non-Hispanic whites, respectively. Hispanics also were significantly less likely to seek help for AN relative to non-Hispanic whites.ConclusionThis was the first study in a nationally representative sample of US adults to examine rates of help-seeking, including by sex and ethnic/racial differences, across DSM-5-defined EDs. These findings emphasize the need to develop strategies to encourage help-seeking among individuals with EDs, particularly among men and ethnic/racial minorities.Copyright © 2019 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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