42% increase of children admitted to hospital with eating disorders

Nearly 370 children were hospitalised for anorexia or bulimia over the past three years.

According to figures released under the Freedom of Information Act, there was an increase of 42% between 2016 and 2018.

The HSE says eating disorders, especially anorexia, have the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses.

Patients with these disorders tend to have the longest admission in hospitals.

Though eating disorders can happen at all ages, they're most common among the young population.

Ninety children under 16 had inpatient stays in Irish hospitals for anorexia or bulimia in 2016.

This rose to 145 in 2017.

Last year 132 children had a principal diagnosis of anorexia or bulimia when they were discharged from hospital.

There were admissions across the country, but across the three years, 148 children were treated in Dublin's three children's hospitals.

Dr Madeleine Ní Dhálaigh is a member of the Irish Medical Organisation's GP committee.

"Those statistics are really quite sobering because admitting a child or adolescent for inpatient treatment for an eating disorder is often a last resort," she said.

"Doctors and their teams prefer to treat young people in their home environment within the family structure but if the illness becomes progressively worse, there is sometimes no other option."

The HSE says early intervention in eating disorders is key and outpatient specialist care is the most effective treatment.