[Anorexia nervosa (AN)--epidemiology, cause, therapy, outcome].

The number of patients suffering from anorexia nervosa is rising steadily. More than 90 percent of patients are female in preadolescents or adolescents. AN is characterized by abnormal eating behavior and excessive loss of weight. The self-esteem is highly dependent on their body shape and weight. The purposes of behavior therapy for AN are to remove various types of avoidance behavior, to reestablish desirable eating behavior and social skill behavior. The course and outcome of AN are variable. Of patients admitted to our hospital to receive behavior therapy, 60 percent are mostly recovered, 30 percent exhibit a fluctuating pattern of weight gain followed by relapse, and 10 percent are chronically deteriorating course of the illness over many years. The long-term mortality from AN is about 6 percent.