There are various statistics and trends associated with anorexia nervosa specially. 0.9% of American women suffer from anorexia in their lifetime (National Association of Anxorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, n.d.). 1 in 5 anorexia deaths is by suicide(National Association of Anxorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, n.d.).

Standardized Mortality Ratio (SMR) is a ratio between the observed number of deaths in an study population and the number of deaths would be expected (National Association of Anxorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, n.d.). 50-80% of the risk for anorexia and bulimia is genetic(National Association of Anxorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, n.d.).33-50% of anorexia patients have a comorbid mood disorder, such as depression (National Association of Anxorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, n.d.).

Mood disorders are more common in the binge/purge subtype than in the restrictive subtype(National Association of Anxorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, n.d.). About half of anorexia patients have comorbid anxiety disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder and social phobia(National Association of Anxorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, n.d.).

There are also various statistics and trends associated with eating disorders in general. At least 30 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder in the U.S. (National Association of Anxorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, n.d.). Every 62 minutes at least one person dies as a direct result from an eating disorder(National Association of Anxorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, n.d.).

Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness

As per National Association of Anxorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, n.d., eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. 13% of women over 50 engage in eating disorder behaviour s(National Association of Anxorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, n.d.). In a large national study of college students, 3.5% sexual minority women and 2.1% of sexual minority men reported having an eating disorder(National Association of Anxorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, n.d.).

16% of transgender college students reported having an eating disorder(National Association of Anxorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, n.d.). In a study following active duty military personnel over time, 5.5% of women and 4% of men had an eating disorder at the beginning of the study, and within just a few years of continued service, 3.3% more women and 2.6% more men developed an eating disorder(National Association of Anxorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, n.d.).

Eating disorders affect all races and ethnic groups.Genetics, environmental factors, and personality traits all combine to create risk for an eating disorder(National Association of Anxorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, n.d.).

Anorexia Nervosa can be linked to suicide

Across studies, approximately 20 to 40% of deaths in AN are thought to result from suicide (Anorexia and Bulimia Care, n.d.). The mean crude mortality rate was 5.0% (Anorexia and Bulimia Care, n.d). In the surviving patients, on average, full recovery was found in only 46.9% of the patients, while 33.5% improved, and 20.8% developed a chronic course of the disorder(Anorexia and Bulimia Care, n.d). First, crude mortality rates were high and increased significantly with length of follow-up (Anorexia and Bulimia Care, n.d).