Eating disorders and academic performance among college students

Abstract

Objective: There is a paucity of research exploring eating disorders (EDs) and academic performance (AP). This study aimed to understand the effect of ED treatment on AP, hypothesizing that students receiving treatment for EDs would have a higher GPA. Participants: The Spring 2010 – Spring 2011 National College Health Assessment data (N = 231,586) was utilized. Methods: Ordinal logistic regressions, controlling for key confounders, analyzed the association between those diagnosed with anorexia or bulimia and GPA. Results: Students diagnosed with anorexia or bulimia and treated with medication and psychotherapy were respectively 1.49 (1.24, 1.80; p < .0001) or 1.35 (1.13, 1.61; p = .0009) times more likely to have a higher GPA (p < .0001) compared to students without EDs. Conclusion: Findings expand the literature on EDs and AP among college students. Additional research is needed to determine whether the combination of medication and psychotherapy is the most effective way to improve AP among students with EDs.

Keywords:

• Clinical medicine
• counseling
• mental health
• nutrition

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported, in part, by grant #5R49CE002109 from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDC, to the West Virginia University Injury Control Research Center. Contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not represent official views of the CDC.