Assessment of long-term treatment results in women suffering from anorexia nervosa in adolescence

INTRODUCTION: Reports assessing long-term treatment outcomes for anorexia nervosa (AN) are divergent and refer to different populations. They lack long-term observations in AN patients in Poland. AIM OF THE STUDY: Analysis of the recovery, relapse rate, and predictive factors in patients treated due to AN in adolescence. Material and methods: A total of 201 subjects were given a survey. Ninety-seven women were recruited: 56 reported to the clinic and 41 filled in the survey. RESULTS: The average period from hospitalization to the survey was 7.76 ±4.39 years. Remission was found in 78.4%, 21.6% still presented AN, and 84.2% required a one-off hospitalisation, 10.5% twice. The average BMI was: 20.08 ±3.24 kg/m(2). The rate of attempted suicides was 6.2%. Predictive factors for poor outcome were as follows: older age of the patient when falling ill, lower SDS-BMI score at the onset of AN, transition from the restrictive type of AN into a binge-eating/purging type, and failure to maintain contact with the mother. CONCLUSIONS: 1. Most girls suffering from the restricting type of AN in adolescence are cured permanently. 2. The severity of symptoms in these girls does not eliminate the chance of recovery and achieving important life goals, completing education, finding a life partner, and having children. 3. Girls with a smaller degree of cachexia at onset of AN, with no binge-eating/purging symptoms, maintaining regular contact with their mothers, have a better prognosis for recovery. 4. Six per cent of women treated in their youth for AN face the risk of attempted suicide, which points to the need to monitor their mental state for many years.