Gender bias in the diagnosis of eating disorders and treatment recommendations using the DSM-5
Abstract (summary)
Eating disorders are a set of serious psychological disorders that have been historically thought of as rarely affecting men. Recently, there has been an increase in the amount of research dedicated to understanding men diagnosed with eating disorders and how they may differ from their female counterparts. The majority of the research provides evidence there is little, to no, difference between men and women who have been given the diagnosis of an eating disorder (Carlat, Camargo, & Herzog, 1997; Drewnowski & Yee, 1987; Fernández-Aranda et al., 2004; Hautala et al. 2008; Kashubeck-West, Mintz, & Weigold, 2005; O'Dea and Abraham 2002; Olivardia et al., 1995; Woodside et al., 2001). Despite this, there is still a discrepancy in the rate at which the two populations are diagnosed (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). The purpose of this study is to investigate how this discrepancy might be affected by the changes made to the diagnostic criteria for eating disorders in the DSM-5 through a semi-replication of Currin, Schmidt, and Waller's 2007 study. Major changes to the DSM-5 include the removal of amenorrhea, a change in the definition of what is considered underweight, decreased frequency of binging, and the addition of Binge Eating Disorder. It is believed that such proposed changes in the diagnostic criteria will lead to an increased rate of diagnosis for men.
KEY WORDS: Eating Disorders, Men, DSM-5