One in three hospital stays for eating disorders are among children, say new figures

Children account for more than one in three hospital stays for eating disorders, says a report out today from The NHS Information Centre.

Across all ages, stays for eating disorders totalled 2,579 in the year to June 2010 and children aged under 18 accounted for 882 of those.

The largest number of stays was among 14, 15 and 16-year-olds. However, the figures for the year to June 2010 also show small numbers of children as young as ten were among those who stayed in hospital to be treated for one of the conditions, which include anorexia and bulimia as well as other, unspecified eating disorders.

Overall, the figures show:

  • The number of stays for eating disorders increased 11 per cent to 2,579 in the year to June 2010 compared to the same period a year earlier when they stood at 2,316.
  • 90 per cent of stays (2,326) were females.
  • Anorexia was the most common primary condition among those treated in hospital for an eating disorder and it made up around three quarters of all cases.
  • The region with the highest rate of hospital stays per 100,000 of the population, for all eating disorders, was the South West Strategic Health Authority, whilst the North East SHA was the region with the highest rate of hospital stays per 100,000 population for anorexia.
  • Stays for eating disorders lasted an average of 38 days.

The NHS Information Centre's chief executive Tim Straughan said: “The report confirms that hospital stays due to eating disorders affect mainly young women and they are mostly treated for anorexia.”

“A large number of hospital stays are among 14 to 16-year-olds, but children who are even younger are also affected.”

The report is available at www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/provisionalmonthlyhes

ENDS

Notes to editors

  1. The NHS Information Centre is England's authoritative, independent source of health and social care information. It works with more than 300 health and social care providers nationwide to provide the facts and figures that help the NHS and social services run effectively. Its role is to collect data, analyse it and convert it into useful information which helps providers improve their services and supports academics, researchers, regulators and policymakers in their work. The NHS Information Centre also produces a wide range of statistical publications each year across a number of areas including: primary care, health and lifestyles, screening, hospital care, population and geography, social care and workforce and pay statistics.
  2. HES provisional monthly data can be used for high level, aggregate analysis demonstrating approximate trends in activity. Lower level analysis should be approached with caution as not all activity will be correctly processed until the final annual data is produced.
  3. Month of activity: An episode, which is referred to in this press notice, either ends when a patient is discharged or transferred to the care of another consultant. Therefore a small number of episodes which occur at the month end may be counted in the following month's total episodes, as the discharge or transfer occurred in the following month.
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