Impact of traumatic experiences and violent acts upon response to treatment of a sample of Colombian women with eating disorders.

OBJECTIVE

The current article compared the impact of exposure to sexual trauma and other types of physical threats against the patient or the patient's family on response to treatment, relapse, and dropout rates in 160 Colombian women between 12 and 49 years of age with eating disorders.

METHOD: A comparison was made to 70 cases with unsatisfactory response to treatment and 90 controls with a better response to treatment goals.

RESULTS

Forty-five percent had a history of sexual abuse, other violent traumas, or both. Significant statistical differences were observed between both groups in exposure variables. The highest probability of poor outcome was observed in patients with sexual abuse and exposure to other violent acts (odds ratio [OR] = 6.37, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.1-19.07). The risk of dropout or relapse was, respectively, 10 and 3 times greater among those exposed.

DISCUSSION: Violent social conditions should be noted as another form of trauma with potential impact on outcome in Colombian women with eating disorders. (