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Anorexia Nervosa in a Black Zimbabwean

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

T. Buchan
Affiliation:
St Giles Rehabilitation Centre, Harare, Zimbabwe
L. D. Gregory
Affiliation:
Godfrey Huggins School of Medicine, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe

Summary

In spite of the comparative rarity of anorexia nervosa in African patients, the case of a young black Zimbabwean woman which fulfils Feighner's diagnostic criteria is presented. Special reference is made to several unusual features which include the social and psychological conflicts engendered by changes of culture, the clinical symptoms, and the role of a traditional healer in her recovery. A speculative hypothesis concerning aetiology is suggested.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © 1984 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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