The risk of developing eating disorders among students attending University of Khartoum Medical Campus, Khartoum, Sudan

Abstract Background Medical students are susceptible to various eating disorders including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating. High prevalence rates of eating disorders have been recorded across the Europe and Africa Regions, yielding a negative impact on academic merit. Objectives The aim of this study is to assess the risk of developing eating disorders among medical students and examine its association with childhood trauma and self-esteem. Methodology: An observational cross-sectional study where a total of 299 students participated, 81 males and 218 females. 62 from the faculty of Dentistry, 49 from the faculty of Pharmacy and 202 from the faculty of Medicine - all in Year 3, 4 and 5. Participants filled out a pre-designed online Google survey. Descriptive statistics were used to compute means, and standard deviations for numerical variables. Results The study consisted of 299 participants, of which 37 students were found to be at risk of developing an eating disorder (12.4%). It was discovered in this study that emotional neglect was significantly associated with an increased risk of developing eating disorders (p = 0.028). A significant correlation was also established with childhood maltreatment and the prevalence of risk for eating disorders (p = 0.016). Conclusion The prevalence of medical students with eating disorders was found to be relatively high, hence it merits more campaigning to prevent its onset among university students.