Eating disorder: The thin dead line

Anorexics are at a higher risk of death by suicide than the average person because they are more likely to choose deadlier methods like hanging or jumping in front of trains.

A study, to be published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, provides an insight into identifying patients at risk of carrying out lethal acts, said lead author Jill Holm-Denoma, an assistant professor at the University of Vermont.

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder marked by unhealthy weight loss and self-starvation. Anorexics have an irrational fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even when they are underweight. Anorexia has one of the highest premature death rates of all mental illnesses, according to the National Eating Disorders Association – between five and 20 per cent of anorexics will die due to the condition.

SUICIDE FIXATION

Suicide is a leading cause of death among anorexics. Holm-Denoma said: "People with anorexia commit suicide at a rate that’s about 57 times higher than the expected rate in similar populations that don’t have anorexia."

There are two competing hypotheses on the issue, Holm-Denoma said. The first is that due to the nature of their condition, anorexics already have weakened health, which reduces their chances of surviving a suicide.

"They might be able to engage in what would be a relatively non-lethal suicide attempt for somebody of average health," she explained, "but they would end up dying just because they were so medically compromised."

The second hypothesis is that anorexics often die from suicide attempts because those attempts are more likely to involve lethal methods. That explanation is based on a theory Dr Thomas Joiner published in his book Why People Die By Suicide, Holm-Denoma said.

"What he predicts is that people who have multiple experiences with self-harm eventually acquire the capacity to engage in highly lethal forms of self-injury," Holm-Denoma said.

DID YOU KNOW?

Princess Diana: The late princess struggled with an eating disorder

Elton John: The singer has gone public about his struggles with bulimia

Victoria Beckham: She has admitted to struggling with an eating disorder in the early days of the Spice Girls, after years "in denial"

Oprah Winfrey: The most influential person on TV has had struggles with eating disorder

Karen Carpenter: The late singer went on a water diet to lose weight and, as she put it, "to appear more attractive"

Franz Kafka: The writer who wrote the short story The Hunger Artist suffered from anorexia