Assessment of vitamin levels in individuals with a tendency towards Orthorexia nervosa

Aim: Balanced and adequate nutrition is essential for growth, development, and overall well-being. However, the recently popularized "clean eating" approach, while supporting a healthy lifestyle, can sometimes lead to strict dietary restrictions and unhealthy eating habits. Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) is defined as an eating disorder where an excessive focus on healthy eating negatively impacts individuals' quality of life, though it is not yet officially included in the DSM-V. Research on the definition and clarification of ON criteria is ongoing. This study aims to contribute to the understanding of the pathophysiological processes of ON by examining the relationship between ON and vitamin levels. Materials and Methods: This study is a cross-sectional, descriptive, and analytical study conducted to evaluate the tendency toward Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) and vitamin levels in individuals aged 18–65. It was carried out between October 15, 2024, and January 15, 2025, among patients aged 18–65 who applied to the Family Medicine Outpatient Clinic of Uşak University Faculty of Medicine Training and Research Hospital. According to the hospital information management system, there were 803 patients who visited the outpatient clinic and had laboratory tests requested within the last three months. The sample size representing the population was calculated using Open Epi version 3 with a 95% confidence interval, 5% margin of error, a design effect of 1, and an assumed unknown prevalence of 50%, yielding a minimum required sample size of 261. A total of 266 patients were reached within the specified dates. Participants were included in the study on a voluntary basis, and informed consent was obtained after providing them with the necessary explanations about the study. The questionnaire consisted of two sections: the first section included questions about xii sociodemographic characteristics, while the second section contained questions from the ORTO-11 scale. The ORTO-11 scale was developed in 2008 by Arusoğlu et al. by adapting the ORTO-15 scale into Turkish. In this study, the Cronbach's alpha value of the scale was found to be 0.737. As in the study conducted by Arusoğlu et al., the cutoff point for the scale was set at the 25th percentile, which corresponds to a score of 22, with patients scoring 22 or below considered to have a high tendency toward orthorexia. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS 28 with appropriate statistical tests. Results: A total of 266 patients participated in our study, with a mean age of 40.61±12.06 years. Of the participants, 54.1% (n=144) were female, and 45.9% (n=122) were male. The mean total score of the participants on the ORTO-11 scale was 25.09±4.46, with scores ranging between 15 and 40. Significant differences were found in ORTO-11 scores concerning gender, education level, dieting status, and smoking status. Participants were divided into two groups based on the cutoff point: those with a high tendency toward ON and those with a low tendency. The prevalence of ON in our study was determined to be 30.8%. No significant differences were found between individuals with high and low ON tendencies regarding sociodemographic characteristics and folate, B12, and vitamin D levels (p=0.886, p=0.546, and p=0.552, respectively).