If a child has pica, the parents may not even be aware of what the disorder is. Pica is one of the most difficult eating disorders to treat because people don’t want to admit that they have it. Women who are deficient in iron or other nutritive metals may have pica, and some research suggests that women who had pica as children are much more likely to have pica when they’re pregnant. Pregnant women can suffer from pica, as well. It may occur in as many as 28 percent of children before they’re six years old. The exact cause of pica is not known, and it is thought that many combined factors contribute the behavior. But, since it is linked to diet deficiencies, a doctor may perform blood tests to check your body levels of iron and zinc. There is no single diagnostic test for pica. Research has linked pica to an iron deficiency, although that’s just one facet and not the only cause. Items you may eat can include paper, soap, cloth, hair, string, dirt, chalk, metal, charcoal, and other substances.The substances you eat are not part of normal cultural or social practices (such as the eating of clay as a medicinal practice).You may notice the persistent eating of things that are not food or have no nutritional value over a period lasting at least one month.'It's really not very common, but when it occurs, it can be bad.'įor instance, an inquest was held into the death of Dewi Evans, a 61-year-old man from south Wales who died after surgery to remove a screw, a pen top, a magnet, and some coins from his bowel. O'Brien said 1 to 2 percent of people with learning disabilities suffer from extreme pica. 'So, it affects young kids and people with severe learning difficulties.' 'Pica usually appears in people of a low mental age (how old one feels, acts, and behaves),' said Gregory O'Brien, professor of developmental psychiatry at Northumberland University. Pica syndrome comes from the Latin name for magpie, a bird that is known it eat just about anything. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Debunking Eating Disorder Myths People with pica syndrome, an eating disorder, will have urges to eat soil, coal, rust, chalk, and paper, although people with pica have been known to ingest anything from animal feces to bits of metal. Here's what you should know about causes and treatments. The cause of pica syndrome is not known, but it might involve mineral deficiency and psychological age.

Eating disorder pica causes