Co-occurring psychotic and eating disorders in England: findings from the 2014 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey

Eating disorders as well as psychotic disorders pose a significant risk to those diagnosed, with anorexia nervosa having the highest mortality rate among all mental disorders. The two groups of disorders are shown to be related as those with psychotic disorders are more likely to also be diagnosed with an eating disorder. Further, the relationship between eating and psychotic disorders could be due to trait mood instability. Mood instability is defined as the rapid switching between moods that those affected cannot control easily and has been found in individuals who are diagnosed with either an eating or a psychotic disorder. This leads to the question whether mood instability is involved in the relationship between psychotic and eating disorders. As individuals with both eating and psychotic disorders experience high levels of distress and treatment is challenging, it is important to understand the nature of the relationship between these two disorders.