Anorexia nervosa | |
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Other names | Anorexia, AN |
"Miss A—" depicted in 1866 and in 1870 after treatment. Her condition was one of the earliest case studies of anorexia, published in medical research papers of William Gull. | |
Specialty | Psychiatry, clinical psychology |
Symptoms | Fear of gaining weight, strong desire to be thin, food restrictions,[1] body image disturbance |
Complications | Osteoporosis, infertility, heart damage, suicide,[1] whole-body swelling (edema), heart failure and/or lung failure, gastrointestinal problems, extensive muscle weakness, delirium, death[2] |
Usual onset | Adolescence to early adulthood[1] |
Causes | Unknown[3] |
Risk factors | Family history, high-level athletics, bullying, social media, modelling, substance use disorder, being a dancer or gymnast[3][4][5] |
Differential diagnosis | Body dysmorphic disorder, bulimia nervosa, hyperthyroidism, inflammatory bowel disease, dysphagia, cancer[6][7] |
Treatment | Cognitive behavioral therapy, hospitalisation to restore weight[1][8] |
Prognosis | 5% risk of death over 10 years[4][9] |
Frequency | 2.9 million (2015)[10] |
Deaths | 600 (2015)[11] |
Anorexia nervosa (AN), often referred to simply as anorexia,[12] is an eating disorder characterized by food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin.[1]
Individuals with anorexia nervosa have a fear of being overweight or being seen as such, despite the fact that they are typically underweight.[1][3] The DSM-5 describes this perceptual symptom as "disturbance in the way in which one's body weight or shape is experienced".[8] In research and clinical settings, this symptom is called "body image disturbance"[13] or body dysmorphia. Individuals with anorexia nervosa also often deny that they have a problem with low weight[4] due to their altered perception of appearance. They may weigh themselves frequently, eat small amounts, and only eat certain foods.[1] Some patients with anorexia nervosa binge eat and purge to influence their weight or shape.[1] Purging can be defined by excessive exercise, induced vomiting, and/or laxative abuse. Medical complications may include osteoporosis, infertility, and heart damage,[1] along with the cessation of menstrual periods.[4] In cases where the patients with anorexia nervosa continually refuse significant dietary intake and weight restoration interventions, a psychiatrist can declare the patient to lack capacity to make decisions. Then, these patients' medical proxies[14] decide that the patient needs to be fed by restraint via nasogastric tube.[15] [16]
Anorexia often develops during adolescence or young adulthood.[1] The main origins of anorexia nervosa rest primarily in sexual abuse and problematic familial relations, especially those of overprotecting parents showing excessive possessiveness over their children.[17] The exacerbations of the mental illness are thought to follow a major life-change or stress-inducing events.[4] The causes of anorexia are varied and may differ from individual to individual.[3] There is emerging evidence that there is a genetic component, with identical twins more often affected than fraternal twins.[3] Cultural factors also appear to play a role, with societies that value thinness having higher rates of the disease.[4] Anorexia also commonly occurs in athletes who play sports where a low bodyweight is thought to be advantageous for aesthetics or performance, such as dance, gymnastics, running, and figure skating.[4][5][18]
Treatment of anorexia involves restoring the patient back to a healthy weight, treating their underlying psychological problems, and addressing underlying maladaptive behaviors.[1] A daily low dose of olanzapine (Zyprexa®, Eli Lilly) has been shown to increase appetite and assist with weight gain in anorexia nervosa patients.[19] Psychiatrists may prescribe their anorexia nervosa patients medications to better manage their anxiety or depression.[1] Different therapy methods may be useful, such as cognitive behavioral therapy or an approach where parents assume responsibility for feeding their child, known as Maudsley family therapy.[1][20] Sometimes people require admission to a hospital to restore weight.[8] Evidence for benefit from nasogastric tube feeding is unclear.[21] Such an intervention may be highly distressing for both anorexia patients and healthcare staff when administered against the patient's will under restraint.[15] Some people with anorexia will have a single episode and recover while others may have recurring episodes over years.[8] The largest risk of relapse occurs within the first year post-discharge from eating disorder therapy treatment. Within the first 2 years post-discharge from eating disorder treatment, approximately 31% of anorexia nervosa patients relapse.[22] Many complications, both physical and psychological, improve or resolve with nutritional rehabilitation and adequate weight gain.[8]
It is estimated to occur in 0.3% to 4.3% of women and 0.2% to 1% of men in Western countries at some point in their life.[23] About 0.4% of young women are affected in a given year and it is estimated to occur ten times more commonly among women than men.[4][23] It is unclear whether the increased incidence of anorexia observed in the 20th and 21st centuries is due to an actual increase in its frequency or simply due to improved diagnostic capabilities.[3] In 2013, it directly resulted in about 600 deaths globally, up from 400 deaths in 1990.[24] Eating disorders also increase a person's risk of death from a wide range of other causes, including suicide.[1][23] About 5% of people with anorexia die from complications over a ten-year period[4][9] with medical complications and suicide being the primary and secondary causes of death respectively.[25]
DSM5
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).Espie_2015
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).