A comparison of eating disorder symptomatology, psychological distress and psychosocial function between early, typical and later onset anorexia nervosa
Abstract Objective Epidemiological studies suggest that the incidence of anorexia nervosa (AN) is increasing in younger populations, with some evidence that clinical differences occur according to age of onset (AOO), which may impact prognostic outcomes. The current study sought to compare eating di...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2020-11-01
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| Series: | Journal of Eating Disorders |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40337-020-00337-w |
| _version_ | 1797936535059824640 |
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| author | Zoe M. Jenkins Lior M. Chait Leonardo Cistullo David J. Castle |
| author_facet | Zoe M. Jenkins Lior M. Chait Leonardo Cistullo David J. Castle |
| author_sort | Zoe M. Jenkins |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Objective Epidemiological studies suggest that the incidence of anorexia nervosa (AN) is increasing in younger populations, with some evidence that clinical differences occur according to age of onset (AOO), which may impact prognostic outcomes. The current study sought to compare eating disorder (ED) symptomatology, psychological distress and psychosocial function between early onset (EO), typical onset (TO) and later onset (LO) AN in a large sample of treatment-seeking patients with a diagnosis of AN. Methods Participants included 249 individuals with a diagnosis of AN who were assessed at an outpatient ED service. The sample was divided into three groups based on AOO; those with an AOO ≤14 years (N = 58) were termed ‘EO-AN’, those with an AOO between 15 and 18 years (N = 113) were termed ‘TO-AN’ and those with an AOO of > 18 years (N = 78) were termed ‘LO-AN’. Comparisons were made between AOO groups on assessments of ED symptomatology, psychological distress and psychosocial function. Results EO-AN patients reported a significantly longer illness duration than both TO-AN and LO-AN groups. After controlling for effect of illness duration, the EO-AN group demonstrated significantly higher ED symptomatology and dysmorphic concern compared to the LO-AN group. The EO-AN group demonstrated significantly decreased cognitive flexibility compared to both the TO-AN and LO-AN groups. Discussion These findings suggest that clinical differences do occur according to AOO in AN whereby EO-AN may represent a more severe form of illness that is not attributable to increased illness duration. Treatment strategies which specifically address patients with EO-AN may improve long term health outcomes and recovery. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T18:31:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8a2604973e75487c9992cd13c9d2b4ce |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-2974 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T18:31:06Z |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Eating Disorders |
| spelling | doaj.art-8a2604973e75487c9992cd13c9d2b4ce2023-02-02T04:05:11ZengBMCJournal of Eating Disorders2050-29742020-11-01811810.1186/s40337-020-00337-wA comparison of eating disorder symptomatology, psychological distress and psychosocial function between early, typical and later onset anorexia nervosaZoe M. Jenkins0Lior M. Chait1Leonardo Cistullo2David J. Castle3Mental Health Service, St. Vincent’s HospitalMental Health Service, St. Vincent’s HospitalMental Health Service, St. Vincent’s HospitalMental Health Service, St. Vincent’s HospitalAbstract Objective Epidemiological studies suggest that the incidence of anorexia nervosa (AN) is increasing in younger populations, with some evidence that clinical differences occur according to age of onset (AOO), which may impact prognostic outcomes. The current study sought to compare eating disorder (ED) symptomatology, psychological distress and psychosocial function between early onset (EO), typical onset (TO) and later onset (LO) AN in a large sample of treatment-seeking patients with a diagnosis of AN. Methods Participants included 249 individuals with a diagnosis of AN who were assessed at an outpatient ED service. The sample was divided into three groups based on AOO; those with an AOO ≤14 years (N = 58) were termed ‘EO-AN’, those with an AOO between 15 and 18 years (N = 113) were termed ‘TO-AN’ and those with an AOO of > 18 years (N = 78) were termed ‘LO-AN’. Comparisons were made between AOO groups on assessments of ED symptomatology, psychological distress and psychosocial function. Results EO-AN patients reported a significantly longer illness duration than both TO-AN and LO-AN groups. After controlling for effect of illness duration, the EO-AN group demonstrated significantly higher ED symptomatology and dysmorphic concern compared to the LO-AN group. The EO-AN group demonstrated significantly decreased cognitive flexibility compared to both the TO-AN and LO-AN groups. Discussion These findings suggest that clinical differences do occur according to AOO in AN whereby EO-AN may represent a more severe form of illness that is not attributable to increased illness duration. Treatment strategies which specifically address patients with EO-AN may improve long term health outcomes and recovery.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40337-020-00337-wAnorexia nervosaAge of onsetEating disordersDepressionAnxietyStress |
| spellingShingle | Zoe M. Jenkins Lior M. Chait Leonardo Cistullo David J. Castle A comparison of eating disorder symptomatology, psychological distress and psychosocial function between early, typical and later onset anorexia nervosa Journal of Eating Disorders Anorexia nervosa Age of onset Eating disorders Depression Anxiety Stress |
| title | A comparison of eating disorder symptomatology, psychological distress and psychosocial function between early, typical and later onset anorexia nervosa |
| title_full | A comparison of eating disorder symptomatology, psychological distress and psychosocial function between early, typical and later onset anorexia nervosa |
| title_fullStr | A comparison of eating disorder symptomatology, psychological distress and psychosocial function between early, typical and later onset anorexia nervosa |
| title_full_unstemmed | A comparison of eating disorder symptomatology, psychological distress and psychosocial function between early, typical and later onset anorexia nervosa |
| title_short | A comparison of eating disorder symptomatology, psychological distress and psychosocial function between early, typical and later onset anorexia nervosa |
| title_sort | comparison of eating disorder symptomatology psychological distress and psychosocial function between early typical and later onset anorexia nervosa |
| topic | Anorexia nervosa Age of onset Eating disorders Depression Anxiety Stress |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40337-020-00337-w |
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