Passage
A common misconception in medicine is that eating disorders present similarly in males and females. Research suggests that this is untrue: males meeting diagnostic criteria for eating disorders are more likely than females to have another psychiatric illness, demonstrate a later age of onset, and engage in excessive exercise. They are less likely to engage in purging behaviors, be diagnosed by clinicians, or seek treatment. When males do enter treatment, they are generally further along in the course of the illness.The classification of eating disorders in males according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) has recently been debated. Research suggests that one very common manifestation of eating disorder etiology in males, called muscle dysmorphia (MD) , includes an obsession with a larger and more muscular body, which contrasts with the thin, idealized body for females with eating disorders. Characterized as a subset of body dysmorphic disorder, MD is more recently conceptualized as part of a spectrum of eating disorders; however, it is still classified under the obsessive-compulsive and related disorders umbrella in the DSM-5.One study applied the latest DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa (AN) , bulimia nervosa (BN) , binge eating disorder (BED) , and MD to the medical records of male veterans treated in Veterans Administration (VA) hospitals across the United States from 2000 to 2015. The study (Table 1) found a significant increase in psychiatric comorbidity compared to controls (C) .Table 1 Prevalence of Psychiatric Disorders for Eating Disorder and MD Cases and Controls in a National Sample of Male Veterans Treated at VA Hospitals from 2000 to 2015

-Which of the following hypothetical findings from a follow-up study evaluating eating disorders in males is most consistent with the data presented in Table 1?

Question

Passage
A common misconception in medicine is that eating disorders present similarly in males and females. Research suggests that this is untrue: males meeting diagnostic criteria for eating disorders are more likely than females to have another psychiatric illness, demonstrate a later age of onset, and engage in excessive exercise. They are less likely to engage in purging behaviors, be diagnosed by clinicians, or seek treatment. When males do enter treatment, they are generally further along in the course of the illness.The classification of eating disorders in males according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) has recently been debated. Research suggests that one very common manifestation of eating disorder etiology in males, called muscle dysmorphia (MD) , includes an obsession with a larger and more muscular body, which contrasts with the thin, idealized body for females with eating disorders. Characterized as a subset of body dysmorphic disorder, MD is more recently conceptualized as part of a spectrum of eating disorders; however, it is still classified under the obsessive-compulsive and related disorders umbrella in the DSM-5.One study applied the latest DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa (AN) , bulimia nervosa (BN) , binge eating disorder (BED) , and MD to the medical records of male veterans treated in Veterans Administration (VA) hospitals across the United States from 2000 to 2015. The study (Table 1) found a significant increase in psychiatric comorbidity compared to controls (C) .Table 1 Prevalence of Psychiatric Disorders for Eating Disorder and MD Cases and Controls in a National Sample of Male Veterans Treated at VA Hospitals from 2000 to 2015

-Which of the following hypothetical findings from a follow-up study evaluating eating disorders in males is most consistent with the data presented in Table 1?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Table 1 compares comorbid psychiatric diagnoses (ie, diagnoses that are present simultaneously in one individual) among groups of people diagnosed with eating disorders (AN, BN, and BED) and MD. According to Table 1, 44% of the 36 cases that met diagnostic criteria for MD also met criteria for drug abuse/dependence, which exceeded the proportion of AN, BN, and BED cases that also met criteria for drug abuse/dependence. Therefore, the hypothetical finding that individuals with MD were more likely to abuse anabolic steroids than those with any other of the studied disorders is most consistent with the data presented in Table 1. (Choice A) The study described in the passage was conducted using a sample of male veterans; therefore, conclusions about relative proportions of males and females diagnosed with eating disorders are not consistent with Table 1 data. (Choice B) Table 1 does not provide any information about individuals who may have met diagnostic criteria for more than one eating disorder; therefore, the finding that those with BED also met the criteria for BN within the past year is not consistent with Table 1 data. (Choice C) Table 1 suggests that individuals meeting criteria for BED were more likely to also meet criteria for depression (50%) than were those with AN (35%), which undermines the finding that individuals diagnosed with BED were less likely to also meet criteria for depression than individuals diagnosed with AN. Educational objective: To support findings from another study, data need not report exactly the same findings; rather, results from the first study should align with results from the second.