New Study Finds Eating Disorder Patients with Abnormal Electrolyte Levels at High Death Risk
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A new study published in The Lancet Psychiatry found that 32% of individuals with an eating disorder had abnormal electrolyte levels, which were associated with a higher risk of death from any cause.
The study, led by researchers at ICES and The Ottawa Hospital, found that electrolyte abnormalities were also linked to the development of other serious health conditions, including chronic kidney disease, bone fracture, bowel obstruction, and acute kidney injury.
“These findings might inform explicit mention of electrolyte abnormalities in the criteria we use to assess the severity of eating disorders,” says lead author Dr. Marco Solmi, Medical Director of the Regional Eating Disorder Program at The Ottawa Hospital, and Director of research at the University of Ottawa’s Psychiatry Department.
The researchers included over 6,000 individuals 13 years of age and older who were diagnosed with an eating disorder and had an electrolyte level test within one year of their diagnosis, as recorded on a hospitalization or emergency department record in the province of Ontario, Canada.
Analyzing health records between 2008 and 2019, the researchers found that:
• Most people included in the study were diagnosed with an eating disorder not otherwise specified—disordered eating that falls outside the criteria for anorexia, bulimia and binge eating (59%) — followed by anorexia nervosa (22%) and bulimia nervosa (15%).
• The mean age was 27 years, and 89% were female.
• 1,987 individuals (32%) had an electrolyte abnormality, and many had co-occurring health conditions.
• Among those with an electrolyte disorder, 16% died compared to 6% in those without an electrolyte abnormality.
• Electrolyte abnormalities were also associated with a higher risk of hospitalization and other serious health conditions, but not with a risk of infection or heart disease event.
“These findings underscore the importance of testing for electrolyte levels in people suffering from eating disorders, and then acting on those results to potentially reduce the risk of death or other severe outcomes,” says co-lead author Dr. Nicholas Fabiano, a psychiatry resident at The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa.
Reference: Solmi, M., Fabiano, N., Clarke, A. E., Fung, S. G., Tanuseputro, P., Knoll, G., & et al. (2024). Adverse outcomes and mortality in individuals with eating disorder-related electrolyte abnormalities in Ontario, Canada: A population-based cohort study. The Lancet Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(24)00244-X
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