Eating Disorders and drug use in adolescents

The aim of the study was to show whether there was a connection between drug use and Eating Disorders, as well as to identify the type of drugs most widely used and to ascertain whether they are used to suppress appetite. An "ad hoc" scale was developed using the items of the Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale, whose aim is to detect cases at risk of certain types of eating disorder, and items for assessing drug use. This scale was applied to samples of teenagers (n=446) aged 13-18 from various secondary schools in the Valencia Region (Comunidad Valenciana) in Spain. An association was found between teenagers that use drugs, and particularly between the variable "use of some kind of drug as an appetite suppressant," and being at risk of having an eating disorder. Tobacco was the drug most commonly used (accounting for 66% of those within the risk threshold of the Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale). We conclude that those teenagers from the sample who fall within any of the risk thresholds consume more drugs than those who do not fall within the risk threshold of the Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale. Stimulant-type drugs are those most widely used by these teenagers with the aim of suppressing appetite.