Abstract
A retrospective and longitudinal study was carried out on all children and adolescents who presented to a child psychiatry service over a period of 26 years to identify the nature, course, and outcome of cases meeting criteria for anorexia nervosa (n = 27). Two groups of the same age were identified for comparison, firstly those with food avoidance and emotional disorders (n = 23), and secondly those with emotional disorders but no symptoms associated with eating (n = 22). The results confirm previous reports that early onset anorexia nervosa shows a similar nature, course, and outcome to the adult disease. Being tall at presentation seems to be associated with a poor outcome. Self starvation of early onset may result in short stature in some cases. There seem to be more boys among the group in whom the disease was of early onset than would be predicted from the sex ratio among adult patients. In addition boys with anorexia nervosa may have a better prognosis than girls. Children with food avoidance emotional disorders seem to have a worse prognosis than expected for childhood emotional disorders. They may represent a middle group between those with anorexia nervosa and those with emotional disorders but no symptoms associated with eating.
Full text
PDFSelected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- BLITZER J. R., ROLLINS N., BLACKWELL A. Children who starve themselves: anorexia nervosa. Psychosom Med. 1961 Sep-Oct;23:369–383. doi: 10.1097/00006842-196109000-00001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Bryant-Waugh R., Knibbs J., Fosson A., Kaminski Z., Lask B. Long term follow up of patients with early onset anorexia nervosa. Arch Dis Child. 1988 Jan;63(1):5–9. doi: 10.1136/adc.63.1.5. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Fosson A., Knibbs J., Bryant-Waugh R., Lask B. Early onset anorexia nervosa. Arch Dis Child. 1987 Feb;62(2):114–118. doi: 10.1136/adc.62.2.114. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hsu L. K. Outcome of anorexia nervosa. A review of the literature (1954 to 1978). Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1980 Sep;37(9):1041–1046. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1980.01780220079009. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Jacobs B. W., Isaacs S. Pre-pubertal anorexia nervosa: a retrospective controlled study. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 1986 Mar;27(2):237–250. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.1986.tb02333.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- LESSER L. I., ASHENDEN B. J., DEBUSKEY M., EISENBERG L. Anorexia nervosa in children. Am J Orthopsychiatry. 1960 Jul;30:572–580. doi: 10.1111/j.1939-0025.1960.tb02072.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Mann A. H., Wakeling A., Wood K., Monck E., Dobbs R., Szmukler G. Screening for abnormal eating attitudes and psychiatric morbidity in an unselected population of 15-year-old schoolgirls. Psychol Med. 1983 Aug;13(3):573–580. doi: 10.1017/s0033291700047991. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Morgan H. G., Russell G. F. Value of family background and clinical features as predictors of long-term outcome in anorexia nervosa: four-year follow-up study of 41 patients. Psychol Med. 1975 Nov;5(4):355–371. doi: 10.1017/s0033291700056981. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Szmukler G. I. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia in diabetics. J Psychosom Res. 1984;28(5):365–369. doi: 10.1016/0022-3999(84)90067-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Tanner J. M., Whitehouse R. H., Takaishi M. Standards from birth to maturity for height, weight, height velocity, and weight velocity: British children, 1965. I. Arch Dis Child. 1966 Oct;41(219):454–471. doi: 10.1136/adc.41.219.454. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Tanner J. M., Whitehouse R. H., Takaishi M. Standards from birth to maturity for height, weight, height velocity, and weight velocity: British children, 1965. II. Arch Dis Child. 1966 Dec;41(220):613–635. doi: 10.1136/adc.41.220.613. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Warren W. A study of anorexia nervosa in young girls. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 1968 Oct;9(1):27–40. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.1968.tb02205.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]