The psychological impact of COVID-19-related lockdown measures among a sample of Italian patients with eating disorders: a preliminary longitudinal study

Purpose: To explore the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression, along with PTSD- and ED-related symptoms, across a sample of patients with Eating Disorders (EDs) compared to a group of healthy controls (HC) during the lockdown period in Italy; to assess whether patients’ reported aforementioned psychiatric symptoms improved, remained stable or worsened with the easing of the lockdown measures. Methods: t0 assessment (during lockdown): 59 ED patients and 43 HC completed an online survey, including the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 items (DASS-21), the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and specific ad-hoc questions extracted from the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire; t1 assessment (post-lockdown): 40 EDs patients, a subset of the t0 sample, completed the same assessment 2 months after t0. Results: EDs patients scored higher than HC at the DASS-21, IES-R and PSS. At t1, levels of stress, anxiety and depression were not different than at t0, but symptoms related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), patients’ reported level of psychological wellbeing and specific EDs symptomatology improved. Discussion: During the lockdown, EDs patients presented significantly higher levels of stress, anxiety, depression, PTSD- and ED-related symptoms than HC. With the easing of the lockdown, PTSD- and ED-related symptoms improved, but high levels of stress, anxiety and depression persisted. Level of evidence: Level I, experimental study.