Am J Psychiatry 1981; 138:319-323
Copyright © 1981 by American Psychiatric Association
Do anorectics get well? Current research and future needs
DM Schwartz and MG Thompson
The authors review data from 12 major outcome studies of anorexia nervosa
published in the 15 years since the last review article of Ziolko (1966).
Across the 12 studies the mortality rate from self- starvation was 6%. On
follow-up, well over half of the subjects continued to have eating
difficulties, and close to half showed other signs of psychiatric
impairment. In nonsymptomatic areas of adjustment there was a striking
contrast between the 90% who were successfully employed and the 54% who
made some minimal form of marital or social adjustment. The authors present
a series of recommendations about the form and content of future research
in the field.
