Residential treatment facilities for eating disorders are becoming increasingly common and purport to provide recovery-orientated care in a less restrictive environment than traditional hospital settings. However, minimal attention has focused on individuals’ lived experiences of these residential services.

This study explores participants’ lived experiences of care at Australia’s first residential facility for the treatment of eating disorders.

Qualitative data were collected as part of a clinical evaluation (June 2021 to August 2023). Fifteen women participated in semi-structured interviews about their experience of treatment following discharge. Data were analysed with inductive reflexive thematic analysis.

Three main themes were generated from the data that included participants’ journeys to treatment, experiences of treatment and the transitions associated with and following discharge. Cutting across these main themes were participants’ encounters of barriers, setbacks and hope. Participant experiences of residential treatment were complex and multifaceted, marked by inherent ideological dilemmas that arose in balancing standardised treatment protocols with person-centred and recovery-oriented care. Participants also spoke of reclaiming a sense of self and identity beyond their eating disorder, emphasising the importance of relationships and consistent and collaborative care.

Participant accounts of residential treatment emphasised the importance of holistic, person-centred and recovery-oriented care. Despite the complexities of treatment experiences, participant narratives underscored how recovery may be more about the reclamation of a sense of identity outside of the eating disorder than merely symptom improvement. As such, adopting person-centred and recovery-oriented treatment approaches within residential treatment settings may maximise individual autonomy and promote holistic recovery pathways.

Research suggests that those caring for a loved one with an eating disorder in the UK report unmet needs and highlight areas for improvement. More research is needed to understand these experiences on a wider, national scale.

To disseminate a national survey for adults who had experience caring for a loved one with an eating disorder in the UK, informed by the findings of a smaller scale, qualitative study with parents, siblings and partners in the UK.

A cross-sectional web-based survey was disseminated to adults who had experience caring for a loved one with an eating disorder in the UK.

A total of 360 participants completed the survey. Participants described experiences of care received in both children and young people's, and adult services. Those receiving care from children and young people's services generally reported more timely care, greater involvement in care and more confidence managing their loved one's symptoms post-discharge. In both settings, participants identified a number of areas for improvement, including more timely access to care, improved transition processes and discharge planning, and increased involvement in their loved one's care.

This survey captures the experiences of individuals caring for a loved one with an eating disorder in the UK. There are identified discrepancies between experiences of care in children and young people services compared with adult services. Clinical implications and recommendations for improvement are discussed, including improved transition and discharge processes, increased involvement of and/or support for carers themselves, and more timely access to support services for the unwell individual.

Autistic women are at high risk of developing restrictive eating disorders (REDs), such as anorexia nervosa.

This study provides an overview of the clinical characteristics of autistic women with REDs to (i) enhance understanding of increased risk, and (ii) support the identification of autistic women in eating disorder services.

We compared self-reported autistic and disordered eating characteristics of: autistic participants with REDs (Autism + REDs; n = 57); autistic participants without REDs (Autism; n = 69); and women with REDs who are not autistic (REDs; n = 80). We also included a group of women with high autistic traits (HATs) and REDs, but no formal autism diagnosis (HATs + REDs; n = 38).

Autism + REDs participants scored similarly to Autism participants in terms of autistic characteristics and to REDs participants in terms of experiencing traditional disordered eating symptoms. Autism + REDs participants were distinguished from both groups by having more restricted and repetitive behaviours and autism-specific eating behaviours related to sensory processing, flexibility and social differences. HATs + REDs participants showed a similar pattern of scores to Autism + REDs participants, and both also presented with high levels of co-occurring mental health difficulties, particularly social anxiety.

The presentation of autistic women with REDs is complex, including both traditional disordered eating symptoms and autism-related needs, as well as high levels of co-occurring mental health difficulties. In eating disorder services, the REDs presentation of autistic women and those with HATs should be formulated with reference to autism-specific eating behaviours and co-occurring difficulties. Treatment adaptations should be offered to accommodate autistic characteristics and related needs.

Binge eating disorder (BED) is a common and disabling condition, typically presenting with multiple psychiatric and obesity-related comorbidities. Evidence-based treatments are either resource-intensive (psychotherapies) or have side-effects (medications): these achieve remission in around 50% of cases. Novel treatments are needed.

This randomised sham-controlled trial aimed to assess feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy of at-home, self-administered transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and attention bias modification training (ABMT) in adults with binge eating disorder.

Eighty-two participants with binge eating disorder were randomly allocated to real tDCS with ABMT, sham tDCS with ABMT, ABMT only or waitlist control. Intervention groups received ten sessions of their allocated treatment over 2–3 weeks. tDCS (2 mA, 20 min) was self-administered using a bilateral (anode right/cathode left) montage targeting the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, post-treatment and 6-week follow-up.

Prespecified feasibility criteria (recruitment ≥80 participants and retention rate ≥75%) were exceeded, and treatment completion rates were high (98.7%). All interventions reduced binge eating episodes, eating disorder symptoms and related psychopathology between baseline and follow-up, relative to waitlist control (medium-to-large between-group effect sizes for change scores). Small-to-medium effect sizes for change scores favoured real tDCS with ABMT versus comparators, suggesting the verum intervention produces superior outcomes.

At-home, self-administered tDCS with ABMT is feasible and acceptable, and preliminary data on efficacy are promising. This approach could be a useful and scalable alternative or adjunct to established treatments for binge eating disorder. Confirmatory trials can, and should, be pursued.

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a surge in adolescent eating disorders and rapid changes in the delivery of intensive community treatments. This study investigates the modification from a group-based day programme to an intensive family treatment approach. A retrospective chart review was performed on data from 190 patients who accessed the intensive service for anorexia nervosa in the past 6 years. Outcomes from the traditional model were compared with the new intensive family model, namely length of admission, percentage median body mass index difference and transfers to in-patient services.

There was a significant reduction in the length of intensive treatment (from 143.19 to 97.20 days). The number of transfers to specialist eating disorder in-patient services also significantly reduced, and is decreasing year on year.

The findings hold particular relevance as intensive services for adolescent eating disorders continue to be established within health services, with no clear unified approach to treatment.

From a global perspective, eating disorders are increasingly common, probably because of societal transformation and improved detection. However, research on the impact of migration on the development of eating disorders is scarce, and previously reported results are conflicting.

To explore if eating disorder symptom prevalence varies according to birth region, parents’ birth region and neighbourhood characteristics, and analyse if the observed patterns match the likelihood of being in specialist treatment.

This study uses data from a large population-based health survey (N = 47 662) among adults in Stockholm, Sweden. A general linear model for complex samples, including adjustment for gender and age, was used to explore self-reported eating disorder symptoms. Odds ratios were calculated for individual symptoms.

Eating disorder symptoms are substantially more common in individuals born abroad, especially for migrants from a non-European country. This holds true for all surveyed symptoms, including restrictive eating (odds ratio 5.5, 95% CI 4.5–6.7), compensatory vomiting (odds ratio 6.1, 95% CI 4.6–8.0), loss-of-control eating (odds ratio 2.6, 95% CI 2.3–3.1) and preoccupation with food (odds ratio 2.3, 95% CI 1.9–2.8). Likewise, symptoms are more common in individuals with both parents born abroad and individuals living in districts with a high percentage of migrant residents. A gap exists between district-level symptom scores and the likelihood of being in specialist eating disorder treatment.

These findings call for oversight of current outreach strategies, and highlight the need for efforts to reduce stigma and increase eating disorder symptom recognition in broader groups.