Bulimia in British blacks and Asians. A catchment area study

This paper describes the demographic and clinical features of five non-white, normal body weight bulimics, all from the same catchment area. Comparisons with white bulimic referrals from the same area showed clinical similarities, but the non-white bulimics gave an account of gross emotional deprivation: all came from broken homes; four had been separated for long periods from their mothers; two had been subjected to incestuous abuse; and four had been cared for by white women. Response to treatment was poor. The ratio of non-white referral to white was at most one tenth of the ratio of non-white to white women in the catchment area.