Social media influence on Eating Disorders since COVID-19 pandemic: a pilot study

INTRODUCTION: Several studies show a negative impact of mass media contents on adolescents’ mental health, especially on perceived body uneasiness. COVID-19 lockdown determined an increased use of social networks (SN). Psychiatrists highlighted an increase in Eating Disorders’ (ED) diagnoses. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to assess the pattern of SN use in patients with ED using a self-administered questionnaire. METHODS: 30 patients with clinical diagnosis of ED (Anorexia nervosa, Bulimia nervosa or Binge eating disorder) admitted to the ED unit, underwent clinical assessment, and filed a questionnaire on SN use. The questionnaire assesses time spent on SN, weight-control apps use, exposure to fitness- or food-related contents and to ED-promoting contents, distractibility, weight changes and feeling of body uneasiness. RESULTS: Mean age was 20.63 (SD 4.71), mean BMI 20.24 (SD 5.27); 93.3% (28) of patients were females. Eating behaviours were divided into restrictive type (66.7%, 20) or binge/bulimic (33.3%, 10). 16.7% (5) of patients reported self-injury behaviours. In 46.7% (14) of cases, the onset of the ED occurred during COVID-19 pandemic; the remaining 53.3% (16) experienced a relapse of a previous ED during this period. 66.7% (20) of subjects reported an increased use of social media and fitness apps. 90% (27) experienced weight changes during the pandemic, with 76.7% (23) seeking nutritional or psychological interventions. 53.3% (16) perceived an increase in body- or food-related contents on their SN feeds, with 50% declaring of knowing the meaning of the terms pro-ana and pro-mia. Table 1 displays reported answers to the questionnaire. Table 2 shows mean age of patients according to self-injury behaviours and to the onset time of ED. [Table: see text] [Table: see text] CONCLUSIONS: ED onset during the COVID-19 pandemic and self-injury behaviours appear as pivotal characteristics of younger patients, displaying a greater severity of the disorder in our clinical experience. With a more consistent number of patients, it would be possible to correlate SN use and body- and food-related contents to the onset and the severity of ED, focusing on pandemic periods. DISCLOSURE OF INTEREST: None Declared