Disordered eating as a repercussion of sexual assault: a consequence to consider

This study aims at clarifying the links between sexual violence and disordered eating (DE).

In a sample of 12,638 victims of self-reported sexual violence, we analyzed the situation of 546 victims that declared having developed DE. We assessed the characteristics of the assault (age, type of aggression) and the medical consequences (PTSD, depression, suicide attempts, anxiety disorders, etc.).

DE prevalence was 4.3% in the victim sample. The age of the first assault in DE victims was significantly lower than that of the whole population (12 years vs 16 years for median; p < 0.001). A much higher prevalence of sexual assault consequences was present in victims developing DE with odd ratios (OR) for: self-mutilation (OR = 11.5 [8.29-15.95], p < 0.001); depression (OR = 5.7 [4.81-6.86], p < 0.001); self-medication (OR = 5.3 [3.86-7.19], p < 0.001); suicide attempts (OR = 4.5 [3.59-5.67], p < 0.001); post-traumatic stress disorder (OR = 3.8 [2.99-4.78], p < 0.001); anxiety troubles (OR = 5.2 [4.11-6.47], p < 0.001); alcoholism (OR = 4.0 [2.81-5.58], p < 0.001).

This study confirms the link between DE and sexual violence, especially in childhood, leading to severe psychological consequences. In this context, DE should be envisaged as a coping strategy accompanying emotional dysregulation due to traumatic events, and be treated as such.

Level IV: Evidence obtained from multiple time series analysis such as case studies.