The changing profile of eating disorders at a tertiary psychiatric clinic in Hong Kong (1987-2007)

Objective: To examine the clinical profile of Chinese eating disorder patients at a tertiary psychiatric clinic in Hong Kong from 1987 to 2007. Method: Data on 195 consecutive patients were retrieved from a standardized intake interview by an eating disorder specialist. Patients seen between 1987-1997 (n = 67) and 1998-2007 (n = 128) and fat-phobic (n = 76) and nonfatphobic (n = 39) anorexic patients were compared. Results: Patients were predominantly single (91.8%), female (99.0%), in their early-20s and suffered from anorexia (n = 115; 59.0%) or bulimia (n = 78; 40.0%) nervosa. The number of patients increased twofold across the two periods. Bulimia nervosa became more common while anorexia nervosa exhibited an increasingly fat-phobic pattern. Nonfat-phobic anorexic patients exhibited significantly lower premorbid body weight, less body dissatisfaction, less weight control behavior, and lower EAT-26 scores than fat-phobic anorexic patients. Discussion: The clinical profile of eating disorders in Hong Kong has increasingly conformed to that of Western countries.