Context Evidence-based treatment trials for adolescents with anorexia nervosa are few. Objective To evaluate the relative efficacy of family-based treatment (FBT) and adolescent focused individual therapy (AFT) for adolescents with anorexia nervosa on full remission. Design Randomized controlled trial. Setting Stanford University and The University of Chicago (April 2005 until March 2009) Participants One hundred and twenty one participants, ages 12 through 18 years with DSM-IV diagnosis of anorexia nervosa except for not requiring ammenorhea. Interventions Twenty four outpatient hours of treatment over 12 months of FBT or AFT. Participants were assessed at baseline, end of treatment (EOT), 6 months and 12 months follow-up post treatment. Main outcome measures Full remission from anorexia nervosa defined as normal weight (>95% of expected gender, age, weight for height) and mean global Eating Disorder Examination (EDE) score within 1 standard deviation of published means. Secondary outcome measures included partial remission rates (>85% of expected weight for height plus those who were fully remitted) and changes in Body Mass Index (BMI) percentile and eating related psychopathology. Results There were no differences in full remission between treatments at EOT. However, at both 6 and 12 month follow-up FBT was significantly superior to AFT on this measure. FBT was significantly superior for partial remission at EOT but not at follow-up. In addition, BMI percentile at EOT was significantly superior for FBT, but this effect was not found at follow-up. Participants in FBT also had greater changes on the EDE at EOT than those in AFT, but there were no differences at follow-up. Conclusions Although both treatments led to considerable improvement and were similarly effective in producing full remission at EOT, FBT was more effective in facilitating full remission at both follow-up points. Clinical Trials Registry Effectiveness of Family-Based Versus Individual Psychotherapy in Treating Adolescents With Anorexia Nervosa (NCT00149786)

Context Eating disorders are severe conditions, but little is known about the prevalence or correlates of these disorders from population-based surveys of adolescents. Objectives To examine the prevalence and correlates of eating disorders in a large, reprefentative sample of US adolescents. Design Cross-sectional survey of adolescents with face-to-face interviews using a modified version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Setting Combined household and school adolescent samples. Participants Nationally representative sample of 10 123 adolescents aged 13 to 18 years. Main Outcome Measures Prevalence and correlates of eating disorders and subthreshold conditions. Results Lifetime prevalence estimates of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder were 0.3%, 0.9%, and 1.6%, respectively. Important differences were observed between eating disorder subtypes concerning sociodemographic correlates, psychiatric comorbidity, role impairment, and suicidality. Although the majority of adolescents with an eating disorder sought some form of treatment, only a minority received treatment specifically for their eating or weight problems. Analyses of 2 related subthreshold conditions suggest that these conditions are often clinically significant. Conclusions Eating disorders and subthreshold eating conditions are prevalent in the general adolescent population. Their impact is demonstrated by generally strong associations with other psychiatric disorders, role impairment, and suicidality. The unmet treatment needs in the adolescent population place these disorders as important public health concerns.

No abstract

The results of this study provide support for the internal consistency of the EDE-Q and indicate a need for further examination of the factor structure of this instrument.

The current study examines the relationship of affect and eating disorder behavior in anorexia nervosa (AN) using ecological momentary assessment. Participants were 118 adult females recruited at three sites from eating disorder treatment centers and community advertisements. All participants met full DSM-IV criteria or sub-threshold criteria for AN. Participants were provided handheld computers and asked to report positive affect, negative affect, loss of control (LOC) eating, purging, exercise, drinking fluids to curb appetite, and weighing one's self multiple times per day as well as dietary restriction once daily over a two-week interval. Mixed-effects models were used to examine the extent to which affective states predict dietary restriction. Additionally, we used two analytic approaches to compare affect prior to and after other eating disorder behaviors. We found that higher daily ratings of negative affect were associated with a greater likelihood of dietary restriction on subsequent days. When examining the single rating immediately before and after behaviors, we found that negative affect increased significantly following LOC eating, purging, the combination of LOC and eating/purging, and weighing of one's self. Using this same analytic approach we also found negative affect to decrease significantly following the consumption of fluids to curb appetite and exercise. When examining the covariation of AN behaviors and negative affect assessed multiple times in the hours and minutes before the behaviors, we found negative affect significantly increased prior to LOC eating, purging, the combination of LOC eating/and purging, and weighing behavior. Negative affect also significantly decreased following the occurrence of these behaviors. These findings are consistent with the idea that that negative affect is potentially a critical maintenance mechanism of some AN symptoms, but that the analytic approach used to examine affect and behavior may have significant implications on the interpretation of findings.