Incidence of anorexia nervosa in Denmark

From 1970 to 1989, 915 people were admitted for the first time to psychiatric institutions in Denmark and had as their main diagnosis an eating disorder, ICD-8 306.50-59. The incidence of these admissions increased from 0.42/100,000 population in 1970 to a maximum of 1.36/100,000 in 1988. During the time of our investigation, the number of discharges of patients with an eating disorder as the main diagnosis was constant from somatic hospitals, whereas discharges from psychiatric institutions increased.