U.S. medical insurance claims for treatment for eating disorders jumped 65% as a percentage of all claim lines between 2018 and 2022, according to a new report out Wednesday from an independent provider of medical claims data. Photo by bohed/
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Nov. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. medical insurance claims for treatment for eating disorders jumped 65% as a percentage of all claim lines between 2018 and 2022, according to a new report out Wednesday from an independent provider of medical claims data.
Increases were seen across all eating conditions but avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder claims saw the largest rise more than tripling, followed by binge-eating disorder, which jumped 81%, and anorexia nervosa, up 73%, according to FAIR Health's Spotlight on Eating Disorders white paper.
By contrast, claims related to bulimia saw a rise of just 3% but 1 in 10 patients with eating disorders were diagnosed with multiple disorders and were five times more likely to suffer from one or more mental illnesses and four times more likely to have a substance abuse problem.
Drawing on its database of 43 billion private healthcare claim records, which it says is the largest in the country, the New York-based not-for-profit analyzed movement in the percentage of claim lines for eating disorders over time at national, regional and state levels, as well as by age, gender, provider type and specialty.
The study also looked at accompanying mental health conditions and found that 72% of all patients with eating disorders had at least one co-morbidity led by bulimia sufferers, 78% of whom were diagnosed with one or more mental illness that was not an eating disorder. Among ARDFID patients, the rate was 65% while more than 1 in 5 of all those with an eating disorder also had a substance abuse disorder.
More than four in every 10 patients had a generalized anxiety disorder while a slightly lower proportion, 39%, had a diagnosis of major depressive disorder with some being diagnosed with both conditions.
In 2022, just under a quarter of all eating disorder diagnoses were for binge-eating disorder or anorexia on their own, making them the most common eating-related medical conditions. Bulimia, without any other eating disorder, accounted for 6.2% and ARFID for 5.3%.
Females made up more than 89% of eating disorder claim lines, compared with less than 11% for males except for those younger than 9 which in 2022 exceeded females. By condition, claims for anorexia were overwhelmingly female, 94% versus 6% for males, while for ARFID the ratio was 68/32.
Age distribution during the period studied saw a downward trend toward younger age groups from the lion's share being accounted for by 18-24s in 2018 to 14-18s in 2022. ARFID was the eating disorder that most affected patients under the age of 13, while binge-eating disorder most affected people aged between 31 and 65.
All regions saw significant rises in claims for eating disorders led by the South where claims jumped 84% while the Northeast, which had the highest claim levels in 2018, saw the smallest increase, up 51%, leaving it in second place in 2022 behind the West.
By state, the rankings were virtually inverted, with the top five states all in the north of the country -- Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana and Oregon. The bottom five were in the south of the country -- Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and West Virginia.
The study also identified a significant upside trend for care for eating disorder sufferers delivered by non-physician professionals with the largest increase seen in services provided by psychiatric nurses, which more than doubled.
Video consultations for treating eating disorders increased 100-fold between 2018 and 2022, making telehealth the most utilized point of use. By contrast, office-based care for eating disorders fell by 55%, toppling office health from its number-one spot in 2018 into second place in 2022.
FAIR Health said its results formed the foundation for further research into eating disorders with wide-ranging medical, societal and commercial repercussions.
"The findings in this report have implications for stakeholders across the healthcare spectrum, including eating disorder patients and the providers who treat them, as well as payors and policymakers," said FAIR Health President Robin Gelburd.
"FAIR Health hopes that these findings will also be starting points for further research on eating disorders."
