Pica is an eating disorder characterized by persistent ingestion of substances without food content, inedible, for a period of at least 1 month (DSM-5). Such ingestion is not plausible with the age of development of the person nor can it be justified by any cultural or social practice. Usually the substances ingested tend to vary with age and can include:
- paper;
- soap;
- cloth;
- hair;
- wool;
- land;
- plaster;
- talcum powder;
- paint;
- rubber;
- metal;
- pebbles;
- coal;
- ash;
- Crete;
- starch;
Pica often comes to clinical attention as it causes specific medical conditions such as intestinal mechanical problems, intestinal obstructions, intestinal perforation, infections following ingestion of dirt or feces, poisoning in the event that the substances contain paint or lead. Despite the onset of the P ica is more common in children, the picait can also occur for the first time in adolescence or adulthood (in this case it is often associated with intellectual disability). Only recently has international literature become interested in this disorder. Researcher Ezzeddin (2015) studied the ingestion of inedible substances present during pregnancy at the onset of specific uncontrolled desires: in particular, he found pagophagy or the intake of ice following an iron deficiency significant.
Another study conducted in Morocco (Nafil et al., 2015) showed that pica was significantly associated with an iron deficiency (anemia) and was characterized by geophagy, i.e. land intake.
Here are the most frequent disorders in comorbidity with Pica :
- intellectual disability;
- autistic spectrum;
- schizophrenia;
- obsessive-compulsive disorder;
- trichotillomania;
- excoriation disorder.
