Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-kw2vx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-02T05:02:50.310Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Mortality in eating disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

G. C. Patton
G. C. Patton*
Affiliation:
Academic Department of Psychiatry, Royal Free Hospital, London
*
1 Address for correspondence: Dr. G. C. Patton, Academic Department of Psychiatry, Royal Free Hospital, Pond St. London NW3
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Synopsis

Crude mortality rates and mortality rates standardized against a British reference population have been calculated for a group of 460 consecutive patients with eating disorders seen between 1971 and 1981 in a tertiary referral centre for eating disorders. Crude mortality rates were 3·3% and 3·1% in the anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa groups respectively. Standardized rates demonstrated a six-fold increase in mortality in the anorexia nervosa group. The most common cause of death in this group was found to be suicide, with the risk of death remaining high for at least eight years after initial assessment. Specific associations of increased mortality were: being in the lowest weight group at the time of presentation, and having recurrent hospital admissions for eating problems.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 18 , Issue 4 , November 1988 , pp. 947 - 951
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Dally, P. (1969). Anorexia Nervosa. Grune and Stratton: New York.Google Scholar
Farquarson, R. F. & Hyland, H. H. (1966). Anorexia nervosa: the course of 15 patients treated from 20 to 30 years previously. Canadian Medical Association Journal 94, 411–419.Google Scholar
Hsu, L. K. G.Crisp, A. H. & Harding, B. (1979). Outcome of anorexia nervosa. Lancet 1, 61–65.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Isager, T.Brinch, M.Kreiner, S. & Tolstrup, K. (1985). Death and relapse in anorexia nervosa: survival analysis in 151 cases. Journal of Psychiatric Research 19, 515–521.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kay, D. W. (1953). Anorexia nervosa: a study in prognosis. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine 46, 669–674.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morgan, H. G. & Russell, G. F. M. (1975). Value of family background and clinical features as predictors of long-term outcome in anorexia nervosa: four year follow-up study of 41 patients. Psychological Medicine 5, 353–371.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Office of Population, Censuses and Surveys, (1983). Estimated home population (1981 Census based provisional-Series DHI) HMSO: London.Google Scholar
Office of Population, Censuses and Surveys, (Unpublished data). Mortality statistics for England, Wales and Elsewhere. Figures for 1981. SD25. Fareham, Hants.Google Scholar
Russell, G. F. M. (1970). Anorexia nervosa: its identity as an illness and its treatment. In Modern Trends in Psychosomatic Medicine Vol 2 (ed. Price, J. H.), pp. 131–164. Butterworth: London.Google Scholar
Russell, G. F. M. (1979). Bulimia nervosa: an ominous variant of anorexia nervosa. Psychological Medicine 9, 429–443.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Seidensticker, J. F. & Tzagournis, M. (1968). Anorexia nervosa-clinical features and long term follow-up. Journal of Chronic Diseases 21, 361–367.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Theander, S. (1985). Outcome and prognosis in anorexia nervosa and bulimia: some results of previous investigations, compared with those of a Swedish long term study. Journal of Psychiatric Research 19, 493–508.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, E. (1958). Anorexia nervosa: a somatic disorder. British Medical Journal, ii, 190–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar