Trastornos de la conducta alimentaria en adolescentes en América Latina

Abstract

Introduction: Eating disorders are a group of chronic pathologies associated with disordered eating behaviors; amongst them are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and attrition disorder, ED in Latin America are more prevalent in the female gender; multifactorial etiology, psychological, biological, genetic, and sociodemographic level; Their therapy consists of cognitive-behavioral therapy, individual-family psychotherapy, exercise programs, and pharmacological treatment. They can be avoided through primary prevention; nurses should provide individualized care focused on the patient's needs. Methodology: This literature review was conducted in scientific databases, such as Scopus, Taylor & Francis, Proquest + Prisma, PubMed, Science Direct, Medigraphic, Scielo, and Redalyc, a total of 51 scientific papers were used between 2016 to 2021 in several languages. Results: The highest prevalence of ED is in the female gender with 5.7 to 15.2%; associated factors are body dissatisfaction, stress, neurocognitive functioning, age, gender, and environment; therapeutics are performed with psychoeducation, group psychotherapy, healthy lifestyles, and pharmacotherapy; prevention, with campaigns aimed at promoting healthy habits and physical activity; nursing care is focused on the patient's needs, through continuous support. Conclusions: The research showed that EDs are more prevalent in the female gender and are associated with multiple factors, so it has been verified that this age group needs periodic monitoring to reduce this pathology.

Keywords: eating disorders, eating behavior, adolescents, Latin America, therapeutics