Outcome of Adolescent-Onset Eating Disorders

University Of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia MO

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Investigating the course and outcome of eating disorders, and related prognostic factors, is critical to understanding these disorders and guiding treatment. Efforts in this area have been hampered by inconsistent and limited definitions of outcome and, relatedly, no reliable prognostic factors have been identified. Often, outcome has been defined only with physical indices such as weight, neglecting broader assessment of residual eating disordered behaviors and cognitions and psychosocial functioning. The broad objective of this project is to provide breadth and variety to assessment of eating disorder outcome and to factors potentially related to outcome. Specifically, three main questions will be addressed: 1) What is the relationship between different outcomes of adolescent-onset eating disorders (including more "traditional" assessments and comprehensive assessments of psychosocial functioning and residual eating disordered behaviors/cognitions)? 2) Which variables are associated with outcome? 3) How do different conceptualizations of perfectionism compare across the course of an eating disorder and in comparison to healthy subjects? What is associated with "cross-over" from restricting anorexia to binge eating will also be explored. Study participants will be 136 females formerly seen at the University of Missouri-Columbia Adolescent Health Clinic (AHC) for an adolescent-onset eating disorder, 25 female eating disordered active AHC patients, and 60 female age-matched non-eating disordered controls. All subjects will complete questionnaires and an interview assessing DSM-IV diagnoses and, for the eating disordered patients, course of the eating disorder. Those with restricting anorexia at intake who had not binged by the interview will be followed prospectively to collect pilot data looking at emergence of binge eating, which will be combined with data about emergence of binge eating obtained retrospectively from interviews. This project has the potential to inform health care professionals of the value of multi-dimensional, comprehensive outcome assessment. Relatedly, given the chronicity and possible life-threatening severity of eating disorders, identifying factors associated with vulnerability and varying levels of functioning post-treatment is a relevant and important public health issue. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]