Purging disorder is an eating disorder, more specifically a form of other specified feeding or eating disorder. It is characterised by the

DSM-5 The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition'' (DSM-5), is the 2013 update to the '' Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'', the taxonomic and diagnostic tool published by the American Psychiat ...

as self-induced

vomiting Vomiting (also known as emesis, puking and throwing up) is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenteritis, pre ...

, or misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas to forcefully evacuate matter from the body. The lifetime prevalence (percentage of individuals in a population who have experienced the disorder at any point in their lives) of purging disorder has been estimated from 1.1% to 5.3%. Purging disorder differs from

bulimia nervosa Bulimia nervosa, also known simply as bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating (eating large quantities of food in a short period of time, often feeling out of control) followed by compensatory behaviors, such as self-indu ...

(BN) because individuals do not consume a large amount of food (also called a binge) prior to purging. Some of the signs of this disorder include trips to the bathroom directly after a meal, frequent use of laxatives, and obsession over one's appearance and weight. Other signs, all which are the result of excessive vomiting, consist of swollen cheeks, popped blood vessels in the eyes, and clear teeth. Purging disorder is studied far less than other eating disorders hence little information is known about the risk factors, including the effect of gender, race, and class. However, as with most eating disorders, it disproportionately affects women, preoccupation with shape and weight puts this group at elevated risk for eating disorders, including this one. In one study of the risk factors for purging disorder, 77% of the participants who presented with symptoms of purging disorder were female. It has been argued that purging disorder should be considered a distinct eating disorder, separate from bulimia nervosa.

Signs, Symptoms and Causes

Signs

Some of the signs of this disorder include inappropriate influence of body shape and weight, recurrent purging to influence body weight or shape and Russell's sign.

Symptoms

The symptoms include the absence of binging episodes as well as purging behaviours occurring at least once per week for at minimum 3 months

Causes

Risk factors

Some of the risk factors include

Dieting Dieting is the practice of eating food in a regulated way to decrease, maintain, or increase body weight, or to prevent and treat diseases such as diabetes and obesity. As weight loss depends on calorie intake, List of diets, different kinds of ...

, Thin-ideal internalization and Body dissatisfaction.

= Genetic

= The

heritability Heritability is a statistic used in the fields of Animal husbandry, breeding and genetics that estimates the degree of ''variation'' in a phenotypic trait in a population that is due to genetic variation between individuals in that population. T ...

of some eating disorders has been well established, but to date there are no documented family studies of purging disorder to understand the familial nature of purging disorder.

Diagnosis

The

is used as a reference to diagnose Purging Disorder. A patient with Purging disorder will be diagnosed with other specified feeding or eating disorder.

Complications

Purging behaviors, specifically self-induced vomiting and laxative use are associated with the following medical complications: * Subconjunctival hemorrhages (small bleeds in the eyes) * Cuts or scars on the top of the hands ( Russell's sign) * Dental abnormalities such as enamel erosion * Swelling of the parotid gland * Mild esophagitis,

heartburn Heartburn is a burning sensation felt behind the breastbone. It is a symptom that is commonly linked to acid reflux and is often triggered by food, particularly fatty, sugary, spicy, chocolate, citrus, onion-based and tomato-based products. Ly ...

, or acid reflux * Renal (

kidney In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organ (anatomy), organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and rig ...

) inflammation Purging disorder progressing into bulimia nervosa has been observed. However, it is extremely rare for the reverse situation. Bulimia nervosa progressing into purging disorder. This was observed once in a transgender patient with a severe history of bulimia nervosa but presented with symptoms of purging disorder to an eating disorder treatment facility in New Zealand.

Treatment

Treatment for purging disorder can be multidisciplinary. One approach to treatment is

cognitive behavioral therapy Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that aims to reduce symptoms of various mental health conditions, primarily depression, PTSD, and anxiety disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on challenging and chang ...

Prognosis

Children and teenagers with purging disorder have been found to have poorer health-related quality of life than their healthy peers. A small review of 11 cases of purging disorder where death occurred found that only 5 of the 11 deaths could be attributed to the purging disorder. The remaining 6 deaths were a result of suicide.

References

External links

Defining Purging Disorder in Practice
* {{cite web , title=Professor Identifies New Eating Disorder - Purging Disorder , url=https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/mnt/releases/81505 , work=MedicalNewsToday Eating disorders