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Short-term outcome of anorexia nervosa in adolescents after inpatient treatment: a prospective study

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Abstract

The current study describes the short-term outcome of adolescent inpatient population suffering from anorexia nervosa (AN) and analyzes the clinical predictors of poor outcome in these patients. Fifty-seven female AN patients (mean = 15.8, SD = 1.3) admitted for inpatient treatment to a specialized eating disorder unit at a university medical center were reassessed 1 year after being discharged. Assessments were made at the beginning and at the end of the inpatient treatment as well as at the 1-year follow-up. Self-rating data and expert-rating interview data were obtained. Adequate data for 55 (96.5%) cases allowed for the assignment of an outcome category. A total of 28.1% of the patients’ cases showed a good outcome, meaning the patients fully recovered, and 8.8% had an intermediate outcome, and 59.6% of the patients’ cases had a poor outcome. Significant predictors of poor outcome included the patient’s BMI at the beginning of the treatment as well as psychiatric comorbidity, and purging behavior. Adolescent AN is a severe disorder with a poor outcome in a substantial amount of adolescents.

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Acknowledgment

This project was funded by the Stiftung RTL- Wir helfen Kindern e.V. The authors wish to thank the adolescents who participated in the project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, Berlin, 13353, Germany

    Harriet Salbach-Andrae, Nora Schneider, Katja Seifert, Ernst Pfeiffer, Klaus Lenz, Ulrike Lehmkuhl & Alexander Korte

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  1. Harriet Salbach-Andrae
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  2. Nora Schneider
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  3. Katja Seifert
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  4. Ernst Pfeiffer
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  5. Klaus Lenz
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  6. Ulrike Lehmkuhl
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  7. Alexander Korte
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Correspondence to Harriet Salbach-Andrae.

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Salbach-Andrae, H., Schneider, N., Seifert, K. et al. Short-term outcome of anorexia nervosa in adolescents after inpatient treatment: a prospective study. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 18, 701–704 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-009-0024-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-009-0024-9

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