Bang EB, Ko JK, Kwag KH, Lee GY, Kim YR. A comparison of patients with anorexia nervosa and women who are constitutionally thin.
EUROPEAN EATING DISORDERS REVIEW 2020;
28:633-642. [PMID:
32842173 DOI:
10.1002/erv.2777]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2019] [Revised: 07/13/2020] [Accepted: 07/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
Many of the clinical features of anorexia nervosa (AN) can be secondary problems associated with malnutrition, which mask the primary features of AN. This study aimed to investigate the intrinsic features of AN by comparing AN patients to women who are constitutionally thin (CT).
METHOD
Twenty-six patients with AN and 53 CT women of similar body mass index (AN: 17.13 ± 1.73 kg/m2 , CT: 16.62 ± 0.61 kg/m2 ) participated in the study. We examined medical findings, psychiatric features, and disturbed body image between the two groups.
RESULTS
Patients with AN had earlier menarche but less frequent menstrual periods compared to CT women. They had lower blood pressure, lower triiodothyronine, and fasting glucose levels than CT women. Patients with AN had more disturbed body images and restricted diet patterns and also had higher neuroticism compared to CT women.
CONCLUSIONS
The patients with AN viewed their current body shape as fatter and had more restrained eating than the CT women. The results suggest that the disturbed body image may be a salient feature of AN differentiating from CT women, the underlying neural mechanism of which requires further study.
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