Clarifying the association of eating disorder features to suicide ideation and attempts

We examine the relationships of eight eating disorder (ED) features to histories of suicide ideation and suicide attempts.

Participants were 387 adults (62% female, mean age = 36 years) recruited via an online platform, and oversampled for the presence of ED features, who completed standardized self-report measures of study variables.

Different ED features predicted suicide ideation versus attempts. Specifically, Restrictive Eating (d = 0.44), Purging (d = 0.30), and Body Dissatisfaction (d = 0.27) were higher among ideators compared to nonsuicidal participants. In contrast, Muscle Building (d = 0.31), Excessive Exercise (d = 0.26), Cognitive Restraint (d = 0.23), and Restrictive Eating (d = 0.20) were higher among attempters compared to ideators-however, we note that the p-values for these effects range between 0.02 and 0.04 and it is unclear if they would replicate. Independent replication is important.

Findings have implications for the conceptualization of suicide risk in individuals with EDs.