Introduction The incidence of infectious complications in anorexia nervosa is uncertain. It has been suggested that leucopenia in anorexia nervosa contributes to susceptibility to infection or to immunological deficiencies (Hurd, Palumbo and Gharib, 1977). However, the meaning of isolated laboratory investigations with regard to the clinical state of the patient with anorexia nervosa is conside...

BACKGROUND No epidemiologic survey examining eating disorders in Japan has been done at a national level since 1992. The prevalence of anorexia nervosa, as assessed by questionnaires to hospitals, is thought to be underestimated because patients with anorexia nervosa tend to avoid consultations. In conformity with the School Health and Safety Act of Japan, schools are required to have physician...

Anorexia nervosa is a severe psychiatric disorder most commonly starting during the teenage-years and associated with food refusal and low body weight. Typically there is a loss of menses, intense fear of gaining weight, and an often delusional quality of altered body perception. Anorexia nervosa is also associated with a pattern of high cognitive rigidity, which may contribute to treatment res...

OBJECTIVE In this review, based on recent advances in cognitive neuroscience, the author presents a formulation in which the marked persistence of anorexia nervosa can be usefully understood as a well-ingrained maladaptive habit. METHOD The author reviewed the relevant literature on the development and course of anorexia nervosa and interpreted critical features in light of developments in co...

INTRODUCTION Anorexia nervosa is a mental health disorder characterised by deliberate weight loss (through restrictive eating, excessive exercise and/or purging), disordered body image, and intrusive overvalued fears of gaining weight. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence recommends that family interventions that directly address the eating disorder should be offered to children and a...

BACKGROUND Obstetrical complications, based on parental recall, have been reported to be associated with development of anorexia nervosa. We used prospectively collected data about pregnancy and perinatal factors to examine the subsequent development of anorexia nervosa. METHODS This population-based, case-control study was nested in cohorts defined by all liveborn girls in Sweden from 1973 t...

OBJECTIVE To investigate fertility treatment, twin births, and unplanned pregnancies in pregnant women with eating disorders in a population-based sample. DESIGN A longitudinal population-based birth cohort (Generation R). SETTING Rotterdam, the Netherlands. SAMPLE Women from the Generation R study who reported a history of (recent or past) anorexia nervosa (n = 160), bulimia nervosa (n =...

We describe a patient with anorexia nervosa who developed a spontaneous pneumomediastinum. Five other patients have been reported with this association, suggesting that tissue changes in anorexia nervosa may predispose to this condition.