APA receives $100K grant to improve diagnosis of eating disorders

The American Psychiatric Association announced it has received a $100,000 grant from the Council of Medical Specialty Societies to promote the early and proper diagnosis of eating disorders.

In a press release, the APA said it plans to use the grant to develop products, derived from the APA Practice Guideline on the Treatment of Eating Disorders expected early in 2023, to educate psychiatrists, primary care providers, patients and caregivers on the importance of diagnosing eating disorders early and accurately.

“Many eating disorders go undetected by doctors because we’re not asking the right questions and screening at the right touch points,” APA CEO and medical director Saul Levin, MD, MPA, stated in the release. “We are pleased that the Council of Medical Specialty Societies [CMSS] selected us for this grant, as our work to better educate the medical workforce, as well as patients and caregivers, will change lives for the better.”

It is estimated that more than 5% of men and more than 10% of women will have had symptoms of an eating disorder by age 40, with a peak incidence of diagnoses in adolescence and early adulthood, the APA said in the release.

The CMSS grant program aims to fund projects to support development and dissemination of resources and programs to improve the timeliness, accuracy, safety, efficiency, patient-centeredness and equity of diagnostic outcomes for patients in the United States. These awards are funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

“Physicians look to their specialty societies for programs and resources that shape practice and drive improvement in safety, quality and equity,” CMSS CEO Helen Burstin, MD, MPH, MACP, said in the release. “We are very pleased to support the awardees in engaging physicians in diagnostic excellence across the house of medicine.”