Eating disorders are among the most prevalent, disabling, and potentially fatal psychiatric illnesses, and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated their burden, with a 15.3% increase in incidence in 2020 compared with previous years.1 This increase was almost solely among adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa (AN), which is often insidious in onset and more difficult to treat as it advances.
Adolescents with AN are most likely to present to their pediatricians, so awareness and early recognition of the symptoms is critical. Pediatricians are also an integral part of the treatment team in AN and can offer monitoring for serious complications, alongside valuable guidance to parents, who are central to treatment and the reestablishment of healthy eating habits in their children. Here we will review the epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of anorexia, with an emphasis on what pediatricians need to know to screen and to facilitate treatment.
Epidemiology
AN is marked by a fear of gaining weight or behaviors that interfere with weight gain and a self-evaluation unduly influenced by weight and body shape. Youth with AN often deny the seriousness of their malnutrition, although that is not required for diagnosis. AN can be of a restrictive or binge-purge subtype, and amenorrheais no longer a requirement for diagnosis.
Pandemic Prompts Spike in Eating Disorder Hospitalization for Adolescents
Experts: Screen Patients With IBS for Eating Disorder
Behavioral Consult
Anorexia Nervosa in Adolescent Patients: What Pediatricians Need to Know
Susan D. Swick, MD, and Michael S. Jellinek, MD
May 12, 2022
Eating disorders are among the most prevalent, disabling, and potentially fatal psychiatric illnesses, and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated their burden, with a 15.3% increase in incidence in 2020 compared with previous years.1 This increase was almost solely among adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa (AN), which is often insidious in onset and more difficult to treat as it advances.
Adolescents with AN are most likely to present to their pediatricians, so awareness and early recognition of the symptoms is critical. Pediatricians are also an integral part of the treatment team in AN and can offer monitoring for serious complications, alongside valuable guidance to parents, who are central to treatment and the reestablishment of healthy eating habits in their children. Here we will review the epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of anorexia, with an emphasis on what pediatricians need to know to screen and to facilitate treatment.
Epidemiology
AN is marked by a fear of gaining weight or behaviors that interfere with weight gain and a self-evaluation unduly influenced by weight and body shape. Youth with AN often deny the seriousness of their malnutrition, although that is not required for diagnosis. AN can be of a restrictive or binge-purge subtype, and amenorrheais no longer a requirement for diagnosis.
Credits:
Lead image: Dreamstime
Medscape Pediatrics © 2022 WebMD, LLC
Cite this: Anorexia Nervosa in Adolescent Patients: What Pediatricians Need to Know - Medscape - May 12, 2022.