Advertise With UsWeight gain is a very important measure of initial successful treatment of anorexia nervosa and a criterion for discharge. According to the results of a recent study, the amount of weight gained may not be an accurate gauge of the pattern of weight gain after a patient is discharged.
Researchers at the Renfrew Center, Philadelphia, recently reported findings from a study of 214 women diagnosed with anorexia nervosa upon admission for residential treatment, then evaluated 3 months after discharge. The sample was trichotomized, based on change scores from intake to discharge and on outcome measures, including weight, Eating Attitudes Test (EAT)-diet and EAT-oral control subscales.
Dr. Maryelizabeth Forman and colleagues found that women who gained the most weight from intake to discharge experienced the most significant decline in weight at the 3-month follow-up examination. In contrast, women who gained the least amount of weight during the time from admission to discharge had the best improvement in weight gain at the 3-month follow-up. Thus, those who seemed to do better in treatment had a poorer result 3 months later.
As the researchers reported at the 2004 Annual International Conference on Eating Disorders in Orlando, their findings were consistent across both the diet and oral control subscales of the EAT-26.