Virtually Accompanied Eating in the Outpatient Therapy of Anorexia Nervosa.

BACKGROUND: Normalizing the eating pattern and weight recovery are the main objectives in treating anorexia nervosa (AN). Eating accompaniment through shared mealtimes is a common strategy in eating disorder management programs. This study aims to examine the impact on weight gain of an internet-delivered meal support group on patients with AN who were under ambulatory treatment with the Eating Disorders Unit of the UC Christus Health Network, Chile. METHODS: An observational study of 54 female patients with AN diagnosis who participated in Online Meal Support Groups (OMSGs) three times a week was performed. Their weight, BMI and BMI%, was reviewed at the beginning of the sessions and at 45- and 90-day follow-up. RESULTS: Patients showed significant weight gain during follow-up. At the 90-day follow-up, patients had gained 4.41 (SD ± 2.82) kg with an effect size of -1.563. CONCLUSIONS: Statistically significant differences were found between the weight at the beginning of the intervention and at the 45- and 90-day follow-up, meaning that eating support online groups may be an effective intervention for weight gain and maintenance in patients with AN. These findings highlight the viability of developing cost-effective and more accessible interventions for AN and thus help reduce the duration of untreated disease and its consequences.

Perceptions of health professionals in providing care for people with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa: a systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative studies.

This study sought to synthesize and reinterpret findings from primary qualitative studies on the experience of health professionals in caring for people with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. We conducted a systematic review of the literature with the SPIDER search strategy assessing six databases. A meta-synthesis was performed with data from qualitative studies. Two independent reviewers screened and assessed the articles, extracted data from the articles and elaborated thematic synthesis. Nineteen articles met the inclusion/exclusion criteria. The meta-synthesis revealed three descriptive themes: Going outside the comfort zone: hard relational experiences of health professionals in providing care for people with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa; Reflecting on treatment: relevance of discussion, communication, and flexibility in health professionals' work with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa; and Dealing with ambivalences: experiences of health professionals with family members of people with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. We elaborated two analytical themes: Making work with eating disorders palatable: malleability necessary for health professionals in bonding with people with anorexia and bulimia nervosa and their families; and Leaving the professional comfort zone: transition from multi to interdisciplinary. Thus, mental health professionals who work with people diagnosed with anorexia and bulimia nervosa cope with hard emotional experiences that makes them feel out of their comfort zone, requiring flexibility to benefit a good therapeutic alliance, but there are still difficulties in promoting interdisciplinarity.

Maintaining Factors of Anorexia Nervosa Addressed from a Psychotherapeutic Group for Parents: Supplementary Report of a Patient's Therapeutic Success.

(1) Background: Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder (ED) where up to 30% of individuals remain unresponsive to treatments, whether they partially respond, or do respond and later relapse. It has been broadly reported how presenting maladaptive family functioning and communication style contributes to treatment drop-out, poor treatment compliance, and poor long-term outcomes. We studied the mother and father of a patient with AN, binge-purge subtype (according to DSM-IV TR) who achieved remission after her parents but not her attended an intervention through a psychotherapy group for parents (PGP). (2) Methods: We previously reported this patient's case report, and now, through an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach, we aimed to explore the understanding and meanings ascribed by the mother and father to their experience at the PGP and to their daughter's clinical and functional improvement. (3) Results: We identified two main stages along the process: one related to the presence of maintaining factors of their daughter's disorder, and the other related to the emergence of a reflective function and to the implementation of behavioral, emotional and cognitive changes. (4) Conclusions: The interview revealed both parents' experience at the PGP promoted a change process, where they were able to modify their previous style of communication and functioning, and to identify them as a contributors to maintain their daughter's disorder. Reflective function (RF) emerged in the mother and father throughout the psychotherapeutic process. Both parents also revealed some elements that were intergenerationally transmitted, that affected three generations and contributed to maintaining the ED. We observed the multilevel open-group structure of the PGP, enhancing the mother's and father's change process.

Parent-Focused Psychotherapy for the Preventive Management of Chronicity in Anorexia Nervosa: A Case Series.

BACKGROUND: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a complex eating disorder where involvement of family plays a central role in first line treatment in adolescents, but which is not so for adults where poor response to treatment is frequent. Given the reluctance of some patients to receive treatment, we set out to explore the hypothesis that certain family dynamics may be involved in the maintenance of the disorder. METHODS: We aimed to understand what is underlying in the cases of patients who present clinical improvement with their parents, but not the ones who received a parent-focused psychotherapeutic intervention. We conducted a mixed methods study. On the one hand we performed a case series of 14 patients who dropped out of treatment while their parents actively attended the intervention, and on the other hand, we followed the evolution of the parents of those patients reluctant to continue treatment, through non-participant observation. RESULTS: We present preliminary evidence where we found the parent-focused psychotherapeutic intervention was able to elicit a reflective function of the parents. We also observed that the intervention modified certain family dynamics that could be related to maintaining factors of the disorder. In patients, we found that in parallel to the assistance of their parents to psychotherapeutic treatment, and even when they were receiving no intervention, they showed significant clinical improvement of symptomatology and global functioning; we observed 9 of 14 of them who voluntarily decided to return to pharmacological treatment. CONCLUSIONS: This parent-focused intervention elicited changes in reflective functioning of participant parents; the intervention produced favorable changes in family dynamics, which we believe is probably related to improvement of global functioning, symptomatology, and insight of patients.

Assessing the Impact of Weighted Blankets on Anxiety Among Patients With Anorexia Nervosa and Avoidant- Restrictive Food Intake Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

IMPORTANCE: Interventions to reduce anxiety are needed for patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and avoidant- restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). Weighted blankets are one such intervention. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of weighted blankets on anxiety for patients with AN and ARFID. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial conducted between November 2018 and March 2019. Patients were randomized into the control group or the intervention group. SETTING: Inpatient setting; medical stabilization unit. PARTICIPANTS: Patients (N = 23) diagnosed with AN or ARFID and experiencing moderate anxiety. The majority were female (91%), with a mean age of 26 yr (SD = 9.3), and the mean length of hospitalization was 22 days (SD = 17.3). INTERVENTIONS: Control group participants received usual care, which included occupational therapy services. Intervention group participants received a weighted blanket along with usual care. OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Mixed-effects regression models were conducted. Primary outcomes included improvement in Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) scores by discharge. RESULTS: Intervention group patients had a greater, non-statistically significant decrease in BAI score over time (B = 1.16, p = .83) than control group patients. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Weighted blankets may be an effective tool for reducing anxiety among patients with AN or ARFID. What This Article Adds: The use of a weighted blanket, in conjunction with occupational therapy interventions, is potentially a beneficial non-pharmacological option for patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). The current study adds an additional modality to the multidisciplinary treatment approach for eating disorders.

Evolución y tratamiento de los trastornos de la conducta alimentaria en adolescentes: serie de casos / Treatment of eating disorders in adolescents: case series

Los trastornos de la conducta alimentaria son enfermedades de elevada prevalencia en la adolescencia y tienen repercusión en la salud integral. El objetivo fue describir su evolución y tratamiento en un grupo de adolescentes. Se estudiaron adolescentes menores de 18 años con al menos 6 meses de seguimiento y tratados por un equipo interdisciplinario. Se incluyeron 41 adolescentes: 23 presentaron anorexia nerviosa; 9, trastornos alimentarios no especificados; 7, bulimia nerviosa y 2, trastorno por atracones. El 35 % de pacientes con anorexia nerviosa requirió internación por complicaciones de la desnutrición. El 69 % de las pacientes con anorexia nerviosa, el 57 % de quienes tenían bulimia nerviosa y el 78 % de quienes tenían un trastorno alimentario no especificado presentaron remisión total o parcial, y no hubo pacientes fallecidos. La mayoría presentó una evolución favorable con el tratamiento.

Eating disorders are highly prevalent diseases in adolescence and have an impact on overall health. The objective was to describe the evolution and treatment of eating disorders in adolescents. Adolescents under 18 years of age with at least 6 months of follow-up and treated by an interdisciplinary team were studied. Forty one adolescents were included, 23 presented anorexia nervosa, 9 unspecified eating disorders, 7 bulimia nervosa and 2 binge eating disorders. Thirty five percent of patients with anorexia nervosa required hospitalization for complications of malnutrition. Sixty nine percent of the patients with anorexia nervosa, 57 % with bulimia nervosa, and 78 % with unspecified eating disorders had total or partial remission and there were no deceased patients. The majority presented a favorable evolution with the treatment.

Reflexiones sobre la alianza terapéutica en adolescentes con anorexia nerviosa y sus familias / Reflections on the therapeutic alliance in adolescents with anorexia nervosa and their families

La alianza terapéutica en pacientes con Anorexia Nerviosa constituye un desafío debido a la gravedad de muchos de estos pacientes, a la falta de conciencia de enfermedad que poseen y a la resistencia al cambio, tanto del paciente como de sus familias. Frecuentemente, existe un desconocimiento por parte de los equipos médicos, de dicha patología y de su manejo. Diversos autores han aportado elementos necesarios para una adecuada alianza terapéutica y proponen estrategias que faciliten la construcción de esta alianza. En este artículo se lleva a cabo una revisión de las observaciones ofrecidas por varios autores, desde donde se reflexiona acerca de la importancia de la alianza terapéutica en pacientes con Anorexia Nerviosa y sus familias.

The therapeutic alliance in patients with Anorexia Nervosa constitutes a challenge due to several factors such as the severity of the illness that most of these patients suffer, their lack of awareness of disease, and the resistance to change in the patient and their family. Medical teams are frequently ignorant of this pathology and its treatment. Various authors have contributed in terms of the necessary elements for an adequate therapeutic alliance and in terms of delivering strategies to facilitate this alliance. In this article we will review several authors and reflect on the importance of the therapeutic alliance in patients with Anorexia Nervosa and their families.

[Treatment of eating disorders in adolescents: case series]. / Evolución y tratamiento de los trastornos de la conducta alimentaria en adolescentes: serie de casos.

Eating disorders are highly prevalent diseases in adolescence and have an impact on overall health. The objective was to describe the evolution and treatment of eating disorders in adolescents. Adolescents under 18 years of age with at least 6 months of follow-up and treated by an interdisciplinary team were studied. Forty one adolescents were included, 23 presented anorexia nervosa, 9 unspecified eating disorders, 7 bulimia nervosa and 2 binge eating disorders. Thirty five percent of patients with anorexia nervosa required hospitalization for complications of malnutrition. Sixty nine percent of the patients with anorexia nervosa, 57 % with bulimia nervosa, and 78 % with unspecified eating disorders had total or partial remission and there were no deceased patients. The majority presented a favorable evolution with the treatment.

Los trastornos de la conducta alimentaria son enfermedades de elevada prevalencia en la adolescencia y tienen repercusión en la salud integral. El objetivo fue describir su evolución y tratamiento en un grupo de adolescentes. Se estudiaron adolescentes menores de 18 años con al menos 6 meses de seguimiento y tratados por un equipo interdisciplinario. Se incluyeron 41 adolescentes: 23 presentaron anorexia nerviosa; 9, trastornos alimentarios no especificados; 7, bulimia nerviosa y 2, trastorno por atracones. El 35 % de pacientes con anorexia nerviosa requirió internación por complicaciones de la desnutrición. El 69 % de las pacientes con anorexia nerviosa, el 57 % de quienes tenían bulimia nerviosa y el 78 % de quienes tenían un trastorno alimentario no especificado presentaron remisión total o parcial, y no hubo pacientes fallecidos. La mayoría presentó una evolución favorable con el tratamiento.

Medical Complications of Anorexia Nervosa.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe the medical complications of anorexia nervosa (AN) to enable a consult-liaison psychiatrist to be familiar with these complications when involved with the care of a hospitalized patient with AN. METHODS: Comprehensive PubMed search of English language publications of adult patients with AN was carried out using keywords, phrases, and medical subject headings of anorexia nervosa-medical complications, cardiac, osteoporosis, gastrointestinal, hematological, and endocrine. The database search was restricted by time of publication of studies from 2005 to 2020. RESULTS: Every organ system can be adversely affected by AN. Most are fully reversible with time and informed medical care. A multidisciplinary team is needed to optimally care for patients who are hospitalized as a result of the medical complications of their AN. CONCLUSIONS: Consult-liaison psychiatrists are asked to help in the care of patients with AN who are admitted to a hospital because of a medical complication of their illness. Being familiar with these complications and their treatments will optimize their hospital stays and the care provided. In addition, involving other relevant ancillary services is an important care consideration.

Medical complications of anorexia nervosa.

Anorexia nervosa is a mental illness characterized by self-starvation, marked weight loss, and malnutrition. As the illness worsens, numerous medical complications develop throughout the body. Some of these resolve with effective nutritional rehabilitation and weight gain, whereas others can lead to permanent damage.

Impaired theory of mind in unaffected first-degree relatives of patients with anorexia nervosa.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have shown theory of mind (ToM) is affected in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN). There has also been growing interest in the study of endophenotypes in psychiatric disorders, since they allow better understanding of genetic mechanisms underlying different conditions, making them potential targets for future treatment. The goal of this study was to investigate whether ToM inefficiencies observed in patients with AN, are shared by unaffected first-degree relatives. METHOD: Performance on two ToM tasks (Reading the Mind in the Eyes and Faux Pas Test) were compared in 17 unaffected first-degree relatives of AN patients and in 17 healthy individuals matched for age and level of education. Depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive, and eating disorder symptoms were also assessed and correlated with ToM and clinical/demographic variables. RESULTS: Significant differences between groups were observed in all ToM tasks, with relatives of AN patients showing poorer performance. ToM assessment did not correlate with any clinical or demographic variable. CONCLUSIONS: The preliminary results of this study suggest unaffected first-degree relatives of AN patients display similar patterns of difficulty in ToM as reported previously for AN patients, supporting the hypothesis that ToM inefficiencies are a familial trait in this condition.

Deep Brain Stimulation as a Treatment Approach for Anorexia Nervosa: a Systematic Literature Review

Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric disorder characterized by distortions of body size, weight, and shape perception, as well as by food restriction and/or binge and purging behaviors. It mostly affects young women and causes severe negative impacts on their physical, psychological, and social health. Recent studies have analyzed deep brain stimulation (DBS), a neurosurgical procedure that involves electrode implantation in strategical brain areas, to obtain remission of the symptoms of anorexia nervosa. The results showed that the stimulation of areas associated to the neurocircuitry of anorexia nervosa, such as nucleus accumbens, anterior cingulate cortex, ventral striatum, and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, provokes beneficial responses in terms of bodymass index, quality of life, social functioning, and psychiatric comorbidities. Nevertheless, broader investigations are needed to endorse the clinical usage of DBS in the management of anorexia nervosa.

How do we target the factors that maintain anorexia nervosa? A behaviour change taxonomical analysis.

All psychological treatments for anorexia nervosa appear to have equal (albeit modest) effects. This may be explained because they target similar processes. Although different psychological treatments have been developed for anorexia nervosa treatment, their taxonomical components have not been compared. This study undertook a taxonomical analysis of behaviour change techniques (BCTs), using the CALO-RE analysis tool, from the manuals of Enhanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT-E), Maudsley Model of Anorexia Nervosa Treatment for Adults (MANTRA), Family Based Therapy (FBT), Specialist Supportive Clinical Management (SSCM), and Focal Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (FPT). The highest number of BCTs were found in FPT (72,5%), and the lowest were in SSCM (30%). The other interventions had a similar range of BCTs which mainly focused on goal planning (FBT (50%), CBT-E (47.5%), MANTRA (42.5%)). Modelling, shaping, and training communication, self-monitoring, and fear arousal were the less commonly used BCTs across manuals. Manualized psychological interventions for people with anorexia nervosa share a substantial number of behaviour change techniques which might explain their similar levels of effectiveness. New strategies may be needed in order to improve outcomes.

Cognitive remediation therapy in Mexico as a treatment for Anorexia Nervosa: A case study.

The purpose of this study was to conduct a preliminary evaluation of cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) as part of the treatment of a patient with anorexia nervosa (AN) from Mexico. The participant was a 21-year-old woman with a body mass index (BMI) of 14.7, who had suffered from the disorder for 10 years. Using a pre-post treatment design, changes were evaluated using four neuropsychological tests, two tests to measure the AN symptoms and two to measure psychological distress (depression and anxiety). BMI was also evaluated before and after the intervention. The results of the present study were similar to those reported for patients from English-speaking countries. The average percentage of favorable change in the different measures was higher than 30%, except for BMI, which increased by only 21%. The results suggest that the inclusion of CRT in AN treatment programs in Mexico is a potentially viable option.

Challenges of anorexia nervosa in adolescence: ethnography in a public health service of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. / Desafios da atenção à anorexia nervosa na adolescência: etnografia em serviço público de saúde no Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.

Through anthropological, ethnographic research, this paper seeks to reflect on the dynamics of the daily functioning of a public health service specialized in the treatment of eating disorders, as well as on the process of illness experienced by adolescents who publicly face anorexia nervosa. The Eating Disorders Program observed in Rio de Janeiro provides both outpatient care and hospitalization. Fieldwork provided the knowledge about care provided to adolescents and their families, as well as the difficulties experienced by the multi-professional team. The closer coexistence of the researcher and health services facilitated the identification of the many challenges that permeate the health professional-user relationship, professional lack of motivation in the face of the complex disease, lack of qualification to treat adolescents, and other obstacles. We seek to stress the importance of this theme for the Brazilian Public Health, with the development of guidelines to orient health services, as well as public health policies that promote the establishment of programs, actions and activities aimed to give visibility and ensure rights for people with eating disorders in the country.

O artigo busca, por meio de pesquisa antropológica etnográfica, refletir sobre a dinâmica de funcionamento cotidiano de um serviço público de saúde especializado no atendimento aos transtornos alimentares, bem como sobre o processo de adoecimento vivenciado por adolescentes que enfrentam publicamente a anorexia nervosa. O Programa de Transtornos Alimentares observado no Rio de Janeiro oferta atendimento ambulatorial e possibilidade de internação hospitalar. O trabalho de campo propiciou o conhecimento sobre a atenção prestada aos adolescentes e seus familiares, bem como as dificuldades vivenciadas pela equipe multiprofissional. A convivência mais estreita da pesquisadora no serviço de saúde possibilitou identificar os muitos desafios que perpassam a relação profissional de saúde-usuários, desmotivação profissional frente à complexidade da doença, falta de qualificação para tratar adolescentes, dentre outros obstáculos. Busca-se salientar a importância dessa temática para o campo da Saúde Coletiva no Brasil, com o desenvolvimento de diretrizes para orientar os serviços de saúde, bem como de políticas públicas de saúde que promovam a criação de programas, ações e atividades visando dar visibilidade e assegurar direitos aos portadores de transtornos alimentares no país.

Desafios da atenção à anorexia nervosa na adolescência: etnografia em serviço público de saúde no Rio de Janeiro, Brasil / Challenges of anorexia nervosa in adolescence: ethnography in a public health service of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Resumo O artigo busca, por meio de pesquisa antropológica etnográfica, refletir sobre a dinâmica de funcionamento cotidiano de um serviço público de saúde especializado no atendimento aos transtornos alimentares, bem como sobre o processo de adoecimento vivenciado por adolescentes que enfrentam publicamente a anorexia nervosa. O Programa de Transtornos Alimentares observado no Rio de Janeiro oferta atendimento ambulatorial e possibilidade de internação hospitalar. O trabalho de campo propiciou o conhecimento sobre a atenção prestada aos adolescentes e seus familiares, bem como as dificuldades vivenciadas pela equipe multiprofissional. A convivência mais estreita da pesquisadora no serviço de saúde possibilitou identificar os muitos desafios que perpassam a relação profissional de saúde-usuários, desmotivação profissional frente à complexidade da doença, falta de qualificação para tratar adolescentes, dentre outros obstáculos. Busca-se salientar a importância dessa temática para o campo da Saúde Coletiva no Brasil, com o desenvolvimento de diretrizes para orientar os serviços de saúde, bem como de políticas públicas de saúde que promovam a criação de programas, ações e atividades visando dar visibilidade e assegurar direitos aos portadores de transtornos alimentares no país.

Abstract Through anthropological, ethnographic research, this paper seeks to reflect on the dynamics of the daily functioning of a public health service specialized in the treatment of eating disorders, as well as on the process of illness experienced by adolescents who publicly face anorexia nervosa. The Eating Disorders Program observed in Rio de Janeiro provides both outpatient care and hospitalization. Fieldwork provided the knowledge about care provided to adolescents and their families, as well as the difficulties experienced by the multi-professional team. The closer coexistence of the researcher and health services facilitated the identification of the many challenges that permeate the health professional-user relationship, professional lack of motivation in the face of the complex disease, lack of qualification to treat adolescents, and other obstacles. We seek to stress the importance of this theme for the Brazilian Public Health, with the development of guidelines to orient health services, as well as public health policies that promote the establishment of programs, actions and activities aimed to give visibility and ensure rights for people with eating disorders in the country.

Experiencia emocional de mujeres diagnosticadas con Anorexia Nerviosa (AN) respecto al si mismo, el otro y su tratamiento / Emotional experience of women diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa (AN) with respect to her treatment, the self and the other

El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo poder conocer la experiencia emocional de mujeres diagnosticadas con anorexia nerviosa respecto de su tratamiento, el sí mismo y el otro. Era interesante conocer cómo estas se describen e identifican y además cómo se desenvuelven con la alteridad, pudiendo rescatar de ello las influencias en sus vidas y en el proceso de la misma anorexia y tratamiento, por ende, en la expresión de sus emociones y el surgimiento de éstas. Se utilizó un enfoque cualitativo, de alcance descriptivo-exploratorio y realizado mediante una metodología basada en la Fenomenología hermenéutica. En cuanto a la muestra, las participantes fueron seis mujeres entre 15 y 37 años, con una anorexia nerviosa diagnosticada y encontrándose en tratamiento a la hora de su participación. La técnica de recolección de datos fue la entrevista en profundidad semi-estructurada. Los resultados dan cuenta acerca de la experiencia emocional en torno al tratamiento. Al respecto surgen distintas maneras de expresión de sus emociones, por lo general negativas, como la rabia, inseguridad, invalidez, reactancia, etc. Sumado a lo anterior, el sí mismo y el otro se relacionan con la experiencia en tratamiento, ya que la manera de ser de estas mujeres influye tanto en el proceso de recuperación como en la manera en que se enfrentan a la alteridad, donde pueden mostrarse complacientes, como opositoras y en su totalidad culpables. Es aquí donde el cuerpo emerge como regulador de la relación con la alteridad y, por ende, surge el síntoma. Se concluye que el otro ya sea dentro del tratamiento como en la vida influye en que la sintomatología actualmente se encuentre latente.

The present study aimed to know the emotional experience of women diagnosed with anorexia nervosa regarding their treatment, the self and the other. It was interesting to know how these are described and identified and also how they develop with the otherness, and can rescue from it the influences in their lives and in the process of the same anorexia and treatment, therefore, In the expression of their emotions and the emergence of these. A qualitative approach was used, with a descriptive-exploratory scope and carried out using a methodology based on hermeneutic Phenomenology. As for the sample, the participants were six women between 15 and 37 years old, with anorexia nervosa diagnosed and being treated at the time of their participation. The technique of data collection was the semi-structured depth interview. The results tell about the emotional experience around treatment. Regarding this arise different ways of expressing their emotions, usually negative, such as anger, insecurity, disability, reactance, etc. In addition, the self and the other are related to the experience in treatment, since the way of being of these women influences both the recovery process and the way in which they face alterity, where they can be complacent or opposers, and in their totality guilty. It is here that the body emerges as regulator of the relationship with the otherness and, therefore, the symptom emerges. It is concluded that the other -either within the treatment as in life-, influences in that the symptomatology is currently dormant.

An examination of the clinical outcomes of adolescents and young adults with broad autism spectrum traits and autism spectrum disorder and anorexia nervosa: A multi centre study.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the clinical outcomes of adolescents and young adults with anorexia nervosa (AN) comorbid with broad autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or ASD traits. METHOD: The developmental and well-being assessment and social aptitude scale were used to categorize adolescents and young adults with AN (N = 149) into those with ASD traits (N = 23), and those who also fulfilled diagnostic criteria for a possible/probable ASD (N = 6). We compared both eating disorders specific measures and broader outcome measures at intake and 12 months follow-up. RESULTS: Those with ASD traits had significantly more inpatient/day-patient service use (p = .015), as well as medication use (p < .001) at baseline. Both groups had high social difficulties and poorer global functioning (strengths and difficulties questionnaire) at baseline, which improved over time but remained higher at 12 months in the ASD traits group (p = .002). However, the improvement in eating disorder symptoms at 12 months was similar between groups with or without ASD traits. Treatment completion rates between AN only and ASD traits were similar (80.1 vs. 86.5%). DISCUSSION: Adolescents with AN and ASD traits show similar reductions in their eating disorder symptoms. Nevertheless, their social difficulties remain high suggesting that these are life-long difficulties rather than starvation effects.