Related Experiment Videos
The ups and downs of anorexia nervosa
A R Lucas1, C S Crowson, W M O'Fallon
1Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA.
Objective:
We updated our incidence study by identifying Rochester, Minnesota, residents diagnosed with anorexia nervosa during 1985 through 1989.
Method:
From a community-based epidemiologic resource, 2,806 medical records with diagnoses including anorexia nervosa, eating disorder, bulimia, amenorrhea and other conditions were screened to identify new cases of anorexia nervosa.
Results:
Two hundred eight (193 females and 15 males) residents fulfilled standard diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa. The overall age-sex-adjusted incidence rate was 8.3 per 100,000 person-years. The age-adjusted incidence among females was 15.0 per 100,000 person-years compared to 1.5 per 100,000 among males. The long-term linear increase for 15 to 24-year-old females noted during the first 50 years of the study continued. The disorder remained less frequent among older females.
Discussion:
Anorexia nervosa remains a relatively common disorder among young females. While there are short-term fluctuations in incidence, the long-term increasing trend for 15 to 24-year-old females has continued.