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A comparison of patients with anorexia nervosa and women who are constitutionally thin
Author(s) -
Bang Eun Byul,
Ko Jeong Kyung,
Kwag Kyung Hwa,
Lee Gi Young,
Kim YoulRi
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
european eating disorders review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.511
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1099-0968
pISSN - 1072-4133
DOI - 10.1002/erv.2777
Subject(s) - anorexia nervosa , body mass index , neuroticism , eating disorders , anorexia , medicine , menarche , psychology , psychiatry , endocrinology , personality , social psychology
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/m 2 , CT: 16.62 ± 0.61 kg/m 2 ) 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.