Course and outcome in adolescent anorexia nervosa

✍ Scribed by Herpertz-Dahlmann, Beate M. ;Wewetzer, Christoph ;Schulz, Eberhard ;Remschmidt, Helmut

• Publisher: Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 732 KB
• Volume: 19
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0276-3478
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1098-108x(199605)19:4<335::aid-eat2>3.0.co;2-m

✦ Synopsis

Objective: To investigate course, outcome, and psychiatric comorbidity in adolescent anorexia nervosa by repeated follow-up assessment. Method: Thirty-four subjects (88%) of an original sample of 39 inpatients were followed up personally 3 and 7 years after discharge and classified according to DSM-III-R eating disorder categories. Standardized psychometric instruments were used to assess specific eating disorder symptoms, concomitant general psychopathology, and comorbid psychiatric diagnoses. Results: After 7 years, 7 patient (3%) had anorexia nervosa, 4 patients (72%) bulimia nervosa, and 7 Opatients (29%) eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS). Anxiety disorders (4 7 %) and affective disorders ( I 8%) were the most prevalent comorbid psychiatric disorders. Concomitant general psychopathology was significantly related to the outcome of the eating disorder. Conclusions: According to our results, the majority of former adolescent anorexic inpatients had shown substantial improvement in their eating disorder symptomatology after 7 years. Patients with persisting eating disorders mostly suffered from restrictive symptoms. The prevalence and distribution of psychiatric comorbidity were similar to those of adult-onset anorexia nervosa. Subjects with a worse outcome of the eating disorder also displayed higher levels of general psychopathology. 0 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

In the past decades a variety of studies on the outcome of anorexia nervosa have been published . Nevertheless, methodologically robust studies are still rare. In his critique of follow-up studies, Hsu (1992) points out that the majority are biased by