Changes in trabecular bone score and bone density in female adolescents with anorexia nervosa: a longitudinal study.

Impaired bone health is a common complication of anorexia nervosa (AN). We aimed to assess longitudinal changes in bone mineral density (BMD) and trabecular bone score (TBS), a measure of bone quality, in female adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN). We conducted a retrospective longitudinal study of 41 female adolescents with AN who underwent two dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans. Clinical data, including age, weight, height, body mass index (BMI), and DXA measurements were retrieved from the medical charts. Lumbar bone mineral apparent density (BMAD) was calculated to correct for size. Changes (Δ) in BMD, BMAD, and TBS were examined for correlations with clinical characteristics. Mean ages at the time of DXA scans were 14.8±1.9 and 16.8±2.0 years. There was a significant improvement in anthropometric parameters and DXA measurements at the second DXA scan. However, these values were still significantly lower than expected in the general population. The Δlumbar BMD Z-score was 0.3±0.7, the Δlumbar BMAD Z-score was 0.2±0.7 and the ΔTBS Z-score was 0.5±0.7. ΔTBS Z-score was positively correlated with Δheight Z-score, Δweight Z-score and ΔBMI Z-scores, and negatively correlated height Z-score, weight Z-score and TBS Z-scores at the first DXA scan (p<0.05). Δheight Z-score, ΔBMI Z-score and the progression from early to late puberty were identified as significant independent predictors of Δlumbar BMAD Z-score (p<0.05). During two years of treatment, both BMD and TBS increased significantly. Improvement in height and in weight status, and progression in puberty are predictors of improvement in BMD and TBS.

Resting energy expenditure in acutely ill and stabilized patients with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

OBJECTIVE: Determining resting energy expenditure (REE) may be important in the nutritional assessment of adolescents with eating disorders (EDs). Calculated equations assessing REE, developed according to data from healthy people, may under- or overestimate REE in EDs. We have sought to compare the REE measured in clinical settings to that calculated using equations in actively ill adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN), and following stabilization of weight and disordered eating. METHODS: Thirty-five female adolescents with AN and 25 with BN were assessed at admission to inpatient treatment and at discharge. REE was measured using indirect calorimetry (DELTATRAC Metabolic Monitor). Expected REE was calculated using the Harris-Benedict equation. RESULTS: An overestimation of expected versus measured REE was found for both patients with AN and BN, both at admission and discharge. Second, the differences between expected and measured REE were significantly less robust in BN versus AN. Third, REE before renourishing was lower in inpatients with AN versus BN. Fourth, the REE of patients with AN (both measured and expected) increased from admission to discharge, to a greater extent than expected solely from the increase in weight. The difference between admission and discharge expected and measured REE was significant also in patients with BN. DISCUSSION: Our findings suggest that predicted and measured REE are different in both AN and BN, and that both expected and measured REE are not useful in the planning of renourishing programs in patients with AN.

A dyadic group-movement therapy with adolescent girls with eating disorders.

Movement therapy emphasizes that intervention with the body may have a therapeutic impact on emotional, cognitive, and social levels. Movement therapy with individuals with eating disorders (EDs) is associated with many difficulties, owing to the fear and shame that these patients feel with their body. The persistent resistance occurring in group-movement therapy with patients with EDs has led us to implement a novel multidyadic movement group therapy, consisting of an equal number of participants and staff. This model enables the work of patient-staff dyads, using body-related modeling and adequate containment from the staff to assist patients in dealing with their body-related fear and shame. In this article, we use case studies to illustrate the implications-derived from the unexpected highly positive impact of multidyad movement group therapy and discuss the clinical relevance of this treatment in EDs.

Prospective Longitudinal Assessment of Linear Growth and Adult Height in Female Adolescents With Anorexia Nervosa.

CONTEXT: Growth retardation is an established complication of anorexia nervosa (AN); however, findings concerning the adult height of AN patients are inconsistent. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this work was to assess linear growth and adult height in female adolescents with AN. DESIGN AND SETTING: A prospective observational study was conducted in a tertiary university hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Participants included all 255 female adolescent AN patients hospitalized in the pediatric psychosomatic department between January 1, 2000 and May 31, 2015. INTERVENTIONS: Height and weight were assessed at admission and during hospitalization. Patients were subsequently invited for measurement of adult height. Additional data collected included premorbid height data, menstrual history, skeletal age, pertinent laboratory studies, and parental heights. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The main outcome measure of this study was adult height. RESULTS: Mean age at admission was 15.4 ±â€…1.75 years, mean body mass index (BMI) was 15.7 ±â€…1.8 kg/m2 (BMI SDS = -2.3 ±â€…1.45 kg/m2). Premorbid height SD scores (SDS) were not significantly different from those expected in normal adolescents (0.005 ±â€…0.96). However, height SDS at admission (-0.36 ±â€…0.99), discharge (-0.34 ±â€…0.96), and at adult height (-0.29 ±â€…0.95), were significantly (P < .001) lower than expected. Furthermore, adult height was significantly (P = .006) shorter compared to the midparental target height. Stepwise forward linear regression analysis identified age (r = 0.32, P = .002) and bone age (r = -0.29, P = .006) on admission, linear growth during hospitalization (r = 0.47, P < .001), and change in luteinizing hormone during hospitalization (r = -0.265, P = .021) as independent predictors of improvement in height SDS from the time of admission to adult height. CONCLUSIONS: Whereas the premorbid height of female adolescent AN patients is normal, linear growth retardation is a prominent feature of their illness. Weight restoration is associated with catch-up growth, but complete catch-up is often not achieved.

Extreme Risk-Taking Behaviors in Patients With Eating Disorders.

BACKGROUND: Patients with eating disorders (EDs) engage in different self-inflicted at-risk behaviors, including suicide, attempted suicide and non-suicidal self-injury. Our aim was to describe the occurrence and underlying motivations of non-suicidal extreme risk-taking behaviors in patients with EDs. METHODS: Four cases from different treatment centers in Israel were analyzed. RESULTS: All patients were females hospitalized in inpatient settings because of long lasting anorexia nervosa (AN) with either binge/purge or purging episodes (AN-B/P/AN-P), including in most cases both self-induced voting and laxative abuse. Case [1] was an adolescent also diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus. She abused insulin, both omission and overdose, was highly suicidal, and suffered from comorbid oppositional behavior, depression and anxiety. Case [2] was a 24-years old woman, transitioning from restricting to AN with vomiting and laxative use during inpatient treatment. She was also diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. In hospital, she developed excessive water consumption, leading to very low urine concentrations and sodium levels, and one episode of loss of consciousness. Case [3] was in her late thirties, demonstrating particularly massive laxative abuse. She also suffered from alcohol addiction, sexual trauma, and one attempted suicide. During hospitalization she developed laxative-abuse-related rectal prolapse that was successfully operated. Nonetheless, after operation she resumed laxative abuse. Case [4] was a 23-year old pregnant women with highly active AN-B/P during pregnancy. She was hospitalized at 23 weeks of gestation following abdominal pressure. She only partly complied with inpatient treatment, discharged herself against medical advice after 5 weeks, and gave birth at week 34. DISCUSSION: All cases were females with long-standing B/P type AN, often with multiple purging behaviors, other impulsive and non-impulsive comorbidities, and many environmental vulnerabilities. Different motivations were found for these extreme behaviors in addition to ED-related factors, mostly not related to suicide. The severity of the medical and psychological condition required multimodal medical and psychological inpatient interventions. The patients mostly did not comply with their treatment, showing considerable indifference to their grave medical condition.

Alterations in QT dispersion in the surface electrocardiogram of female adolescents diagnosed with restricting-type anorexia nervosa.

OBJECTIVE: QT dispersion (QTd), defined as the difference between the longest interval and the shortest interval in the 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG), is a measure of myocardial repolarization inhomogeneity. We assessed QTd in malnourished anorexia nervosa (AN) inpatients and following weight restoration. METHODS: QTd analysis, anthropometric evaluations, and laboratory tests were carried out in 30 malnourished female adolescent AN restricting-type (AN-R) inpatients and following weight restoration. RESULTS: A significant increase was found in weight/height ratio and body mass index from malnourished stage to weight restoration, paralleled by a significant decrease in QTd (70+/-16 vs. 47+/-16 ms; P<.0001). No correlations were found between ECG indices and anthropometric and laboratory measures. CONCLUSION: Elevated QTd in malnourished AN-R inpatients may indicate possible cardiac autonomic imbalance and/or myocardial damage, likely corrected following weight restoration.

Linear growth and final height characteristics in adolescent females with anorexia nervosa.

OBJECTIVE: Growth retardation is an established complication of anorexia nervosa (AN). However, findings concerning final height of AN patients are inconsistent. The aim of this study was to assess these phenomena in female adolescent inpatients with AN. METHODS: We retrospectively studied all 211 female adolescent AN patients hospitalized in an inpatient eating disorders department from 1/1/1987 to 31/12/99. Height and weight were assessed at admission and thereafter routinely during hospitalization and follow-up. Final height was measured in 69 patients 2-10 years after discharge. Pre-morbid height data was available in 29 patients. RESULTS: Patients' height standard deviation scores (SDS) on admission (-0.285±1.0) and discharge (-0.271±1.02) were significantly (p<0.001) lower than expected in normal adolescents. Patients admitted at age ≤13 years, or less than 1 year after menarche, were more severely growth-impaired than patients admitted at an older age, (p = 0.03). Final height SDS, available for 69 patients, was -0.258±1.04, significantly lower than expected in a normal population (p = 0.04), and was more severely compromised in patients who were admitted less than 1 year from their menarche. In a subgroup of 29 patients with complete growth data (pre-morbid, admission, discharge, and final adult height), the pre-morbid height SDS was not significantly different from the expected (-0.11±1.1), whereas heights at the other time points were significantly (p = 0.001) lower (-0.56±1.2, -0.52±1.2, and -0.6±1.2, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that whereas the premorbid height of female adolescent AN patients is normal, linear growth retardation is a prominent feature of their illness. Weight restoration is associated with catch-up growth, but complete catch-up is often not achieved.

Olfactory function and alternation learning in eating disorders.

Orbitofrontal dysfunction is a prominent feature of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). In the present study we assessed orbitofrontal functioning in eating disorders (EDs) which share many features with OCD. For this purpose we studied female adolescent inpatients with anorexia nervosa restricting type (n=40), anorexia nervosa binge/purge type (n=23), a normal weight group including patients with either bulimia nervosa or eating disorder not otherwise specified-purging type (n=33), and 20 non-ED control females. Patients were assessed at admission, and when achieving weight restoration and symptom stabilization at discharge, for depression, non-ED, and ED-related OC symptoms. Orbitofrontal functioning was assessed with an alternation learning task, and with a battery assessing olfactory threshold and discrimination. Control females were assessed once. ED patients of all subtypes performed better on olfactory threshold and discrimination, but not on alternation learning, in comparison to healthy controls. More favorable orbitofrontal functioning was associated with greater ED-related obsessionality. No changes were found in olfactory threshold and discrimination between acutely-ill and symptomatically-stabilized patients. The improvement shown in alternation learning from admission to discharge was suggested to reflect a learning effect rather than being an actual change. Our findings suggest that the better orbitofrontal functioning of ED patients in comparison to healthy controls may represent a core feature of the ED that is independent of malnutrition and deranged eating behaviors, but is associated with ED-related obsessionality.

Stunting of growth as a major feature of anorexia nervosa in male adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: To assess growth retardation in male adolescent patients who have a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa (AN) and the effect of weight restoration on catch-up growth. METHODS: Medical charts of all male adolescent AN patients (n = 12) who were admitted to the Pediatric Psychosomatic Department at the Sheba Medical Center from January 1, 1994, to December 31, 1998, were reviewed. Height and weight measurements were obtained before the onset of AN, at admission, and thereafter routinely during hospitalization and follow-up. RESULTS: Eleven patients exhibited growth retardation during the course of their illness, as evident in a decrease in their height standard deviation score (SDS). The mean height SDS at the time of admission (-0.81 +/- 0.93) was significantly lower than the premorbid SDS (-0.21 +/- 0.91). Weight restoration resulted in accelerated linear growth (up to 2 cm/mo) in all patients. Positive weight gain (weight gain rate >1 kg/y) was associated with a mean height gain of 6.97 +/- 6.48 cm/y, whereas weight loss or failure to gain weight (weight gain rate