Current Research and News 3/2019

Compiled by EDReferral.com

Changes in eating disorder characteristics over the years. Since 1980, the diagnostic criteria of patients with eating disorders (ED) have changed over the years. Are these changes also expressed in the clinical features of the ED patients? A cross-sectional sample was drawn consisting of 100 consecutive female patients' files diagnosed with anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) and bulimia nervosa and admitted at an inpatient unit from the first of January 1990, 2000, and 2010, respectively. Several reliable and well-validated questionnaires (Eating Disorder Inventory, Body Attitude Test, Symptom Checklist, and the Beck Depression Inventory) were administered and scores were compared. The ratio AN/BN remained the same (65/35). No differences were found between the three cohorts except for depression, which increased over the years. This pattern is the same for the subsamples of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Specific characteristics of eating disorder pathology did not change across time. Eur Eat Disord Rev. 2018 Sep;26(5):417-421. doi: 10.1002/erv.2603. Epub 2018 May 17.

Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa-New Evidence-Based Guidelines. Evidence-based practice guidelines aim to support all groups involved in the care of patients with anorexia nervosa by providing them with scientifically sound recommendations regarding diagnosis and treatment. The German S3-guideline for eating disorders has been recently revised. In this paper, the new guideline is presented and changes, in comparison with the original guideline published in 2011, are discussed. Further, the German guideline is compared to current international evidence-based guidelines for eating disorders. Many of the treatment recommendations made in the revised German guideline are consistent with existing international treatment guidelines. Although the available evidence has significantly improved in quality and amount since the original German guideline publication in 2011, further research investigating eating disorders in general, and specifically anorexia nervosa, is still needed. J Clin Med. 2019 Jan 29;8(2). pii: E153. doi: 10.3390/jcm8020153. Read the full article here: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/8/2/153/htm

A new study has found that a persistent low body mass index (BMI) in children, starting as young as age 2 for boys and 4 for girls, may be a risk factor for the development of anorexia nervosa in adolescence…see below.

Developmental Premorbid Body Mass Index Trajectories of Adolescents With Eating Disorders in a Longitudinal Population Cohort. Objective: To examine whether childhood body mass index (BMI) trajectories are prospectively associated with later eating disorder (ED) diagnoses. Method: Using a subsample from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (N = 1,502), random-coefficient growth models were used to compare premorbid BMI trajectories of individuals who later developed anorexia nervosa (n = 243), bulimia nervosa (n = 69), binge-eating disorder (n = 114), and purging disorder (n = 133) and a control group without EDs or ED symptoms (n = 966). BMI was tracked longitudinally from birth to 12.5 years of age and EDs were assessed at 14, 16, and 18 years of age. Results: Distinct developmental trajectories emerged for EDs at a young age. The average growth trajectory for individuals with later anorexia nervosa veered significantly below that of the control group before 4 years of age for girls and 2 years for boys. BMI trajectories were higher than the control trajectory for all other ED groups. Specifically, the mean bulimia nervosa trajectory veered significantly above that of controls at 2 years for girls, but boys with later bulimia nervosa did not exhibit higher BMIs. The mean binge-eating disorder and purging disorder trajectories significantly diverged from the control trajectory at no older than 6 years for girls and boys. Conclusion: Premorbid metabolic factors and weight could be relevant to the etiology of ED. In anorexia nervosa, premorbid low weight could represent a key biological risk factor or early manifestation of an emerging disease process. Observing children whose BMI trajectories persistently and significantly deviate from age norms for signs and symptoms of ED could assist the identification of high-risk individuals. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, February 2019 Volume 58, Issue 2, Pages 191–199 Read the full text here: https://jaacap.org/article/S0890-8567(18)32042-2/fulltext

Children with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder and anorexia nervosa in a tertiary care pediatric eating disorder program: A comparative study. The purpose of this study was to examine the medical and psychological characteristics of children under the age of 13 years with avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) and anorexia nervosa (AN) from a Canadian tertiary care pediatric eating disorders program. Method: Participants included 106 children assessed between 2013 and 2017 using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5). Data were collected through clinical interviews, psychometric questionnaires, and chart review. Information collected included medical variables (e.g., weight, heart rate, need for inpatient admission, and duration of illness from symptom onset); medical comorbidities (e.g., history of food allergies, infection, and abdominal pain preceding the eating disorder); and psychological variables (e.g., psychiatric comorbidity, self-reported depression and anxiety, and eating disorder related behaviors and cognitions). Results: Children with ARFID had a longer length of illness, while those with AN had lower heart rates and were more likely to be admitted as inpatients. Children with ARFID had a history of abdominal pain and infections preceding their diagnoses and were more likely to be diagnosed with a comorbid anxiety disorder. Children with AN had a higher drive for thinness, lower self-esteem, and scored higher on depression. Discussion: This is the first study to look at DSM-5 diagnosis at assessment and include psychometric and interview data with younger children with AN and ARFID. Understanding the medical and psychological profiles of children with AN and ARFID can result in a more timely and accurate diagnosis of eating disorders in younger children. Int J Eat Disord. 2019 Feb 1. doi: 10.1002/eat.23027. [Epub ahead of print]

Long-term outcome and psychiatric comorbidity of adolescent-onset anorexia nervosa. To assess the outcome of adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN) about 20 years after first treatment. Methods: Sixty-two women diagnosed with AN during adolescence were invited to participate. Of these 62 patients, 38 agreed to participate and were assessed with a battery of questionnaires and interviews. A control group of 30 women of similar age was also assessed. Results: Of the patients who completed the full assessment, 13 (34%) presented some degree of eating disorder (ED) at follow-up (10 (26%) met full Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5) criteria for an ED and 3 (8%) showed partial remission of an ED). The remaining 25 (66%) patients had fully recovered from AN. The duration of untreated illness before admission was significantly associated with an increased risk of a current ED (odds ratio (OR) = 3.334 (1.3-8.7); p = .014). Of the patients who had recovered totally from their ED, 24% showed another psychiatric disorder. This percentage rose to 70% in patients with a current ED. Conclusion: Sixty-six percent of adolescents who completed the assessment achieved remission of their AN. Comorbidity was more common in the current ED group. The variable that best predicted complete remission was the number of years without treatment, showing the importance of detection and early intervention. Clin Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2019 Feb 15:1359104519827629. doi: 10.1177/1359104519827629.