Abstract
Skin signs due to starvation include lanugo-like body hair that is considered a guiding sign to suspect the presence of an eating disorder and “frequent signs” such as carotenoderma, xerosis, acrocyanosis, pernio, acne and pruritus. Less frequent signs include striae distensae, purpura, diffuse reticulate purpura, erythema ab igne, acrodermatitis, scurvy, pellagra, prurigo pigmentosa, alopecia, hair loss, opaque and fragile hair, pili torti, nail abnormalities, angular cheilitis and gingivitis.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Tyler I, Wiseman C, Crawford RI et al (2002) Cutaneous manifestations of eating disorders. J Cutan Med Surg 6:345–353
Glorio R, Allevato M, De Pablo A et al (2000) Prevalence of cutaneous manifestations in 200 patients with eating disorders. Int J Dermatol 39:348–353
Siddiqui A, Ramsay B, Leonard J (1994) The cutaneous signs of eating disorders. Acta Derm Venereol (Stockh) 74:68–69
Marshman GM, Hanna MJ, Ben-Tovim DI et al (1990) Cutaneous abnormalities in anorexia nervosa. Australas J Dermatol 31:9–12
Strumia R, Varotti E, Manzato E et al (2001) Skin signs in anorexia nervosa. Dermatology 203:314–317
Strumia R, Manzato E, Gualandi M (2002) Cutaneous manifestations in anorexia nervosa in males. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 16(Suppl 1):303
Schulze UM, Pettke-Rank CV, Kreienkamp M et al (1999) Dermatologic findings in anorexia and bulimia nervosa of childhood and adolescence. Pediatr Dermatol 16:90–94
Strumia R (2005) Dermatologic signs in patients with eating disorders. Am J Clin Dermatol 6:1–10
Park KK, Friedman A (2010) Dermatologic indicators of eating disorders. J Drugs Dermatol 9:412–417
Gupta MA, Gupta AK, Haberman HF (1987) Dermatologic signs in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Arch Dermatol 123:1386–1390
Gupta MA, Gupta AK (2001) Dissatisfaction with skin appearance among patients with eating disorders and non-clinical controls. Br J Dermatol 145:110–113
Hess AF, Meyers VC (1919) Carotenemia. A new clinical picture. JAMA 73:1743–1745
Dally PJ (1959) Carotenaemia occurring in a case of anorexia nervosa. Br Med J 1(5133):1333
Tung EE, Drage LA, Ghosh AK (2006) Carotenoderma and hypercarotenemia: markers for disordered eating habits. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 20:1147–1148
Bhanji S, Mattingly D (1991) Acrocyanosis in anorexia nervosa. Postgrad Med J 67:33–35
Yucel B, Uzum AK, Ozbey N et al (2007) Anorexia nervosa and Raynaud’s phenomenon: a case report. Int J Eat Disord 40:762–765
Gupta MA, Gupta AK, Ellis CN, Voorhees JJ (1992) Bulimia nervosa and acne may be related: a case report. Can J Psychiatry 37(1):58–61
Michelmore KF, Balen AH, Dunger DB (2001) Polycystic ovaries and eating disorders: are they related? Hum Reprod 16:765–769
Morgan JF, Lacey JH (1999) Scratching and fasting: a study of pruritus and anorexia nervosa. Br J Dermatol 140:453–456
Taniguchi S, Yamamoto N, Kono T et al (1996) Generalized pruritus in anorexia nervosa. Br J Dermatol 134:510–511
Gupta MA, Gupta AK, Voorhees JJ (1992) Starvation-associated pruritus: a clinical feature of eating disorders. J Am Acad Dermatol 27:118–120
Azumagawa K, Kambara Y, Kawamura N, Takenaka Y, Yamasaki T, Tanaka H, Tamai H (2007) Anorexia nervosa and refeeding syndrome. A case report. Scientific World Journal 7:400–403
Pin-Chi C, Chih-Jung H, Hsien-Ching C (2003) Diffuse reticulate purpura in anorexia nervosa. Dermatol Sin 21:68–74
Fischer J, Rein K, Erfurt-Berge C, de Zwaan M (2010) Three cases of erythma ab igne (EAI) in patients with eating disorders. Neuropsychiatr 24(2):141–143
Quirk CM, Seykora J, Wingate BJ et al (2002) Acrodermatitis enteropathica associated with anorexia nervosa. JAMA 288:2655–2656
Hirschmann JV, Raugi GJ (1999) Adult scurvy. J Am Acad Dermatol 41:895–906
George GC, Zabow T, Beumont PJ (1975) Letter: scurvy in anorexia nervosa. S Afr Med J 49(35):1420
Christopher K, Tammaro D, Wing EJ (2002) Early scurvy complicating anorexia nervosa. South Med J 95(9):1065–1066
Dolberg OJ, Elis A, Lishner M (2010) Scurvy in the 21st century. Isr Med Assoc J 12(3):183–184
Rapaport MJ (1985) Pellagra in a patient with anorexia nervosa. Arch Dermatol 121:255–257
Jagielska G, Tomaszewicz-Libudzic EC, Brzozowska A (2007) Pellagra: a rare complication of anorexia nervosa. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 16(7):417–420
Prousky JE (2003) Pellagra may be a rare secondary complication of anorexia nervosa: a systematic review of the literature. Altern Med Rev 8(2):180–185
Sato M, Matsumura Y, Kojima A, Nakashima C, Katoh M, Kore-Eda S, Miyachi Y (2011) Pellagra-like erythema on sun-exposed skin of patients with anorexia nervosa. J Dermatol 38(10):1037–1040
Hendricks WM (1991) Pellagra and pellagralike dermatoses: etiology, differential diagnosis, dermatopathology, and treatment. Semin Dermatol 10:282–292
Nagashima M (1978) Prurigo pigmentosa clinical observations of our 14 cases. J Dermatol 5:61–67
Nakada T, Sueki H, Iijima M (1998) Prurigo pigmentosa (Nagashima) associated with anorexia nervosa. Clin Exp Dermatol 23(1):25–27
Oh YJ, Lee MH (2011) Prurigo pigmentosa: a clinicopathologic study of 16 cases. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. doi:10.1111/j.1468-3083.2011.04263.x
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Strumia, R. (2013). Skin Signs due to Starvation. In: Strumia, R. (eds) Eating Disorders and the Skin. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29136-4_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29136-4_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-29135-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-29136-4
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)