Inpatients with eating disorders: Demographic, diagnostic, and service characteristics from a nationwide pediatric sample

OBJECTIVE:: This study describes the demographic and clinical characteristics of youth hospitalized with an eating disorder, using the Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) database. METHOD:: Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to examine and compare PHIS inpatients (N = 1,713) with a primary discharge diagnosis of anorexia, bulimia, or eating disorder, not otherwise specified. RESULTS:: Of pediatric inpatients with eating disorders, 92% were female and 78% were non-Hispanic white. Their mean age was 15.3 years; 71% had anorexia; 68% had one or more comorbid psychiatric disorders; 53% stayed on a psychiatric unit; the mean length of stay was 15.7 days. Private insurance paid for 55% of hospital stays. Patients without private insurance were more likely than patients with private insurance to be Black or Hispanic and to have comorbid psychiatric diagnoses. CONCLUSION:: This study provides new information that can be used by hospitals to anticipate developmental and treatment needs of future inpatients with eating disorders. © 2007 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 2007