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Health in adulthood after severe anorexia nervosa in adolescence: a study of exposed and unexposed women

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Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

To compare the global health status, frequency of somatic and psychological problems, and alcohol use in adulthood among women hospitalized in adolescence for severe anorexia nervosa (AN), with a matched control sample from the general population.

Method

Women (n = 86) who had been hospitalized for AN 9.31 ± 1.82 years previously were compared with 258 controls matched for gender, age, and socio-professional category. Data were retrieved from a French survey on health and social insurance coverage, and was mainly collected by self-report, except for the assessment of current eating disorders for those previously hospitalized for AN (assessed with the MINI).

Results

The women who had been hospitalized for AN reported significantly poorer current health status compared to controls (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.5–5.79). According to the MINI, 13 women previously hospitalized with severe AN still presented an eating disorder (ED). Women with past AN reported more frequent acute throat infections (OR 4.9, 95% CI 1.81–13.51), gastralgia (OR 3.6, 95% CI 1.9–6.83), gastro-oesophageal reflux (OR 5.279, 95%CI 2.11–13.22), excess blood cholesterol or triglyceride levels (OR 2.55, 95% CI 1.03–6.33), anxiety (OR 8.7, 95% CI 3.48–21.8) and depression (OR 5.02 (2.8–9.01). These differences remained significant and of the same order of magnitude in sensitivity analyses among subjects with previous AN but without current ED, except for perceived health status and excess cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

Discussion

Women who had been hospitalized for severe AN reported more symptoms 10 years after treatment, implies psychological and somatic follow-up in the long term.

Level of evidence

Level III, case–control analytic study.

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Acknowledgements

Mrs Jo Ann Cahn.

Funding

Fondation Wyeth.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université Paris-Saclay, Univ. Paris-Sud, UVSQ, CESP, INSERM, Paris, France

    Emeline Chapelon, Caroline Barry, Tamara Hubert, Jeanne Duclos, Bruno Falissard, Caroline Huas & Nathalie Godart

  2. Psychiatry Department for Adolescent and Young Adults, Institut Mutualiste Montsouris, Paris, France

    Emeline Chapelon & Jeanne Duclos

  3. Pediatrics Department, Jean Verdier Hospital, avenue du 14 Juillet, Bondy, France

    Emeline Chapelon

  4. Institute for Research and Information in Health Economics (Institut de Recherche et de Documentation en Economie de la Santé), Paris, France

    Laure Com-Ruelle

  5. Nutrition Division, Department of Natural Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon

    Lama Mattar

  6. Fondation santé des étudiants de France, 8, rue Emile Deutsch de la Meurthe, 75014, Paris, France

    Caroline Huas & Nathalie Godart

  7. UFR Simone Veil, UVSQ, Montigny le Bretonneux, France

    Nathalie Godart

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  1. Emeline Chapelon
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Correspondence to Caroline Huas.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

“All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.” This research was authorized in 2007 by the Ile-de-France III Ethics Committee (No Am359-1-2353) and complied with the terms of the Helsinki declaration, and accepted by the CNIL no 253/29-05-06. Patients and parents (during the admission for AN) provided informed written consent.

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Chapelon, E., Barry, C., Hubert, T. et al. Health in adulthood after severe anorexia nervosa in adolescence: a study of exposed and unexposed women. Eat Weight Disord 26, 1389–1397 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-020-00940-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-020-00940-5

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