Anorexia nervosa (AN) is the third most common disorder, after obesity and asthma, in the population of adolescents between 13-18 years of age. Food intake reduction is associated with whole body dysfunction, affecting its physical, psychological and social spheres. As a result of starvation, dysfunction develops in virtually all systems and organs. However, most frequently patients with AN complain of digestive symptoms, such as a feeling of fullness after meals, pain in the upper abdomen, dysphagia, nausea, bloating and constipation. They can have mild functional character, but may also reflect serious complications, including diseases requiring urgent surgical intervention. In addition, gastric complaints may hinder nutritional management of AN. Care of AN patients requires cooperation of many specialists in the field of psychiatry, psychology, paediatrics, internal medicine and nutrition. However, it is often difficult to organize such a team. Therefore, we decided to approach the issues of gastrointestinal symptoms and complications in the course of AN, and the rules of nutritional therapy.

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Introduction: Inflammation is supposed to be one of the factors contributing to decreased bone mineral density (BMD) in anorexia nervosa (AN). The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are simple and cost-effective inflammatory markers, well documented as indicators of postmenopausal osteoporosis. This study aimed to assess the relationships between these ratios and BMD in girls with AN. Material and methods:The electronic records of 73 girls hospitalized for AN were analysed retrospectively. The age range of the study group was 12.56-17.67 years. BMD was assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and expressed as Z-scores according to lumbar spine (s-BMD) and total body (TB-BMD) sites. NLR and PLR were calculated according to complete blood count results. Patients were divided into 2 subgroups with parallel analysesaccording to the TB-BMD criterion and the s-BMD criterion: normal (Z-score > -2.0, n = 63) and low s-BMD subgroup (Z-score ≤ -2.0, n = 10), and normal (Z-score > -2.0, n = 45) and low TB-BMD subgroup (Z-score ≤ -2.0, n = 28).Results: In the low s-BMD subgroup a tendency to an increase of mean NLR, PLR, and WBC values was observed. Respective BMD Z-score values correlated significantly and negatively with PLR in the low s-BMD (R = -0.892, p < 0.001) and normal TB-BMD (R = -0.451, p = 0.002) subgroups, while with NLR only in the normal TB-BMD subgroup (R = -0.685, p < 0.001). In the low s-BMD subgroup the PLR was shown to be a significant and independent predictor of s-BMD (β = -0.881, p < 0.001). The PLR contributed to 77.6% of the s-BMD Z-score variability (R 2 = 0.776, p < 0.001). In the normal TB-BMD subgroup, the PLR and NLR levels were significant and independent predictors of TB-BMD (β = -0.352, p = 0.004; β = -0.450, p = 0.001; β = -0.339, p = 0.005, respectively) and explained 44.4% of TB-BMD Z-score variability (R 2 = 0.444, p < 0.001). Conclusions:These results indicate that there might be a relationship between bone mass loss and inflammation expressed as NLR and PLR in adolescent girls suffering from AN. These connections seem to be dependent on the examined skeletal area. NLR and PLR, which are common indicators of morbidity and mortality in many malignancies and inflammatory chronic diseases, can also be useful in the evaluation of bone condition in adolescent females with AN. However, there is a need for further investigation in this field.

The significance of platelet size indices has not been widely analyzed in anorexia nervosa (AN). It seems important to get more knowledge on the easily available indices of platelet function obtained by routine complete blood count analysis in patients with AN. We analyzed platelet count (PLT), platelet distribution width (PDW), and mean platelet volume using an automated blood cell counter in 25 females with AN and healthy age-and gender-matched nonatopic controls. Mean PLT was significantly lower in patients with AN than in the control group. Platelet distribution width values in patients with AN were significantly higher than those in the controls. Platelet distribution width values significantly correlated with the disease duration and rate of body weight loss in the anorectic patients. Anorexia nervosa in adolescents is associated with a decrease in PLT along with an increased PDW, which may be an indicator of dysregulated thrombopoiesis.

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