Cambridge Health Alliance: News

Harvard Researchers at Cambridge Health Alliance Offer First Comprehensive Study of Eating Disorders Among U.S. Latinos

- Binge eating is a serious health concern for adult Latinos in the United States

Study Title: Prevalence and Correlates of Eating Disorders in Latinos in the United States.

Objectives: In this first-of-its-kind study, authors review the prevalence of eating disorders for a national sample of adult Latinos, and examine the demographic factors associated with the rate of disorder, including level of education, age, and gender.

Methods: The authors used data from the National Latino and Asian American Study, a national epidemiological household survey of Latinos in the United States.

Results: Latinos have higher rates of any binge eating disorder but low prevalence of anorexia and bulimia. Those born in the United States and those living a greater percentage of their lifetimes in the United States showed greater risk for certain eating disorders, while severe obesity and low levels of education were found to be significant factors associated with the higher rates. Rates of those being treated for eating disorders were exceedingly low.

Conclusions: Binge eating is a serious health concern for adult Latinos in the United States. The study, which marks the first time comprehensive data on the prevalence of eating disorders in adult U.S. Latinos has been compiled and analyzed, should be used to inform clinical practice, educate both patients and clinicians, and guide program development. The authors also suggest that standard eating disorder criteria may not be appropriate for understanding the frequency of eating disorders for Latinos due to cultural differences in the presentation of eating disorder symptoms. Criteria that are more culturally sensitive to the illness experience of Latinos should be developed.

Authors: Margarita Alegría, PhD, Director of the Center for Multicultural Mental Health Research at Cambridge Health Alliance and Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School; Meghan Woo, MSc, a research assistant at the Center for Multicultural Mental Health Research at Cambridge Health Alliance and a doctoral student at the Harvard School of Public Health; Zhun Cao, PhD, Associate Director for Methodological Affairs at the Center for Multicultural Mental Health Research at Cambridge Health Alliance and Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School; Maria Torres, MA, Project Manager for the National Latino and Asian American Study at the Center for Multicultural Mental Health Research at Cambridge Health Alliance; Xiao-li Meng, PhD, Professor and Department Chair of Statistics at Harvard University; and Ruth Striegel-Moore, PhD, Professor of Psychology at Wesleyan University.

The Center for Multicultural Mental Health Research, led by Dr. Margarita Alegría, is based at Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) and collaborates with outside institutions such as Harvard Medical School and the Recinto de Ciencias Médicas at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR). The mission is to generate innovative mental health services research that impacts policy, practice, and service delivery for multicultural populations. The Center is comprised of an interdisciplinary group of psychologists, social policy analysts, health economists, psychiatrists, data analysts, sociologists, and other professionals that assist in the research and analysis of Center projects. There are currently three large projects operating at the Center: the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS); the joint CHA/UPR project Excellence in Partnerships for Community Outreach, Research on Health Disparities and Training (EXPORT); and the Advanced Center for Mental Health Disparities.

Cambridge Health Alliance is a regional healthcare system with three hospitals and more than twenty primary care practices in Cambridge, Somerville, and Boston's metro-North communities. As a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, Cambridge Health Alliance offers medical residency/training programs and undergraduate learning experiences in hospital and community settings. Cambridge Health Alliance also includes the Cambridge Public Health Department, CHA Physician's Organization (CHAPO), and Network Health, a managed Medicaid and Commonwealth Care plan.