The Outcome of Anorexia Nervosa in the 20th Century

Hans-Christoph Steinhausen
2002 American Journal of Psychiatry  
Objective: The present review addresses the outcome of anorexia nervosa and whether it changed over the second half of the 20th century. Method: A total of 119 study series covering 5,590 patients suffering from anorexia nervosa that were published in the English and German literature were analyzed with regard to mortality, global outcome, and other psychiatric disorders at follow-up. Results: There were large variations in the outcome parameters across studies. Mortality estimated on the basis
more » ... of both crude and standardized rates was significantly high. Among the surviving patients, less than one-half recovered on average, whereas one-third improved, and 20% remained chronically ill. The normalization of the core symptoms, involving weight, menstruation, and eating behaviors, was
doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.159.8.1284 pmid:12153817 fatcat:bbfcd7ccevcaxaa2fthbfbiwj4