El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
A new study examining the rates of adolescent anorexia in Canada paints a grim picture of how the eating disorder affected youth at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Published in the JAMA Open Network Tuesday, the study found that cases and hospitalizations for newly-diagnosed anorexia nervosa or atypical anorexia nervosa among children and adolescents in Canada increased during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study was a repeated, cross-sectional analysis of new eating disorder assessments conducted at six specialist hospitals in Canada between Jan. 1, 2015 and Nov. 30, 2020 in patients aged nine to 18 with a new anorexia nervosa or atypical anorexia nervosa diagnosis.
Atypical anorexia nervosa has the same symptoms associated with anorexia nervosa (often simply called anorexia) but with the distinct difference that the person does not have a low body weight.
The study notes that with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health authorities in Canada cautioned against unnecessary visits to health-care facilities to reduce the possibility of transmission and to accommodate surges in COVID-19 cases. But pediatric hospitals, while experiencing a decrease in emergency department visits for medical attention throughout 2020, “reported increased pediatric mental health visits,” researchers wrote.
Researchers analyzed data collected from patients at the Alberta Children’s Hospital, the British Columbia Children’s Hospital, Janeway Children’s Hospital in Newfoundland, McMaster Children’s Hospital in Ontario, Montreal Children’s Hospital and Sainte Justine Hospital in Quebec, which serve vast swaths of Canada’s population.
Researchers then compared incidence and hospitalization rates for all anorexia or atypical anorexia during the first wave of the pandemic with the rates from five years prior to the pandemic.
A total of 1,883 children and adolescents, 1,713 female and 170 male with a median age of 15.9, were included in the study. During the first wave of the pandemic, the number of newly diagnosed cases “demonstrated a steep upward trend” to about 40 cases per month, the study says.
Hospitalizations for new patients also increased sharply with the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing from 7.5 cases per month to 20 cases per month, on average.
In short, during the first wave of the pandemic monthly new cases of anorexia and atypical anorexia increased by more than 60 per cent and monthly hospitalization nearly tripled compared to pre-pandemic rates.
The study notes that the largest increases in both new anorexia diagnoses and related hospitalizations were reported in Quebec and Ontario, which had the highest mortality per capita rate in the first wave of the pandemic – leading to the most restrictive lockdowns.
Lockdowns led to substantial changes for children and adolescents, the study notes, with disruptions to eating, physical activity and social patterns which can be risk factors for developing an eating disorder.
“In addition, school closures likely expand social media use as a means of communication with peers. Media use has been associated with an increased risk for disordered eating, in particular through exposure to thin ideals and diet-related content,” the study says. “Social media trends referring to weight gain during confinement and a focus on home cooking and exercise routines may have further elevated the eating disorder risk among youth.”
The relationship between stressful events and exacerbations in eating disorder symptoms has been well documented, the study notes, with studies of adult patients with pre-existing eating disorders reporting worsening symptoms during the first wave of COVID-19 associated with confinement such as greater restrictions on eating, increased self-induced vomiting (purging), worsening body dysmorphia and heightened exercise drive.
Researchers wrote that many adolescents with an eating disorder also have depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and that evidence suggests COVID-19 has detrimental consequences on the mental health of youth.
Rates of depression and suicidal ideation were higher in adults in COVID-19–associated lockdowns compared with those who were not under these restrictions, according to the study. “In children and adolescents, the disruption of routines and disconnection from peers were associated with the increase in mental health burden and emergence of depression and anxiety. A worsening of overall mental health status may explain the increased rate of newly diagnosed anorexia nervosa or atypical anorexia nervosa found in the present study.”
Disruptions to children and adolescents’ “protective factors” against eating disorders, such as social support, made them “more vulnerable to stressful circumstances,” the study says.
Researchers hope to continue studying how to better prepare for the mental health needs of children and adolescents who have eating disorders in the event of future pandemics or prolonged social isolation.
------
The following is a list of resources and hotlines dedicated to supporting people in crisis:
National Residential School Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419
Hope for Wellness Helpline (English, French, Cree, Ojibway and Inuktitut): 1-855-242-3310
Trans Lifeline: 1-877-330-6366
Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
A 15-year old boy who was critically injured after a stabbing in Nepean on Thursday has died of his injuries, Ottawa's English public school board said Sunday.
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
The Maple Leafs battled back from a 3-1 series deficit against the Boston Bruins with consecutive 2-1 victories - including one that required extra time - in their first-round playoff series to push the club's Original Six rival to the limit before suffering a devastating Game 7 overtime loss.
Amid scientists' warnings that nations need to transition away from fossil fuels to limit climate change, Canadians are still lukewarm on electric vehicles, according to a study conducted by Nanos Research for CTV News.
Three people have died and two have been hospitalized after a speeding car struck a tree and landed on another vehicle in Fredericton Sunday morning.
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Madonna put on a free concert on Copacabana beach Saturday night, turning Rio de Janeiro's vast stretch of sand into an enormous dance floor teeming with a multitude of her fans.
Thieves killed two Australians and an American on a surfing trip to Mexico in order to steal their truck, particularly because they wanted the tires, authorities said Sunday.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.