[Life-threatening complications and death in anorexia nervosa]

The medical complications of anorexia nervosa may endanger the patient in several ways; the severity of somatic complications may be underestimated; medical findings may be assigned to other diagnoses than anorexia nervosa or complications may indicate an emergency, leading to therapeutic activities which may result in a life-threatening situation for the patient. There are some indications that phosphate depletion is involved in medical complications in anorexia nervosa, even in those cases with fatal outcome. Acute hypophosphatemia may be induced by hyperalimentation.