[Case report: comorbid anorexia nervosa and schizophrenia in a male patient]

Anorexia nervosa is a rare psychiatric disorder and epidemiological studies have shown a female to male ratio of 10:1, suggesting it is a disorder predominantly seen among females. The prevalence of anorexia nervosa comorbid with other psychiatric disorders has been reported to be quite high. Whereas depression and anxiety disorders are the most common comorbid diagnoses in anorexic patients, the dual-diagnosis of anorexia and schizophrenia is a relatively rare condition. Based generally on the observations from single case reports or case series, several explanations have been made about the co-occurrence of anorexia and schizophrenia. Herein, we present a male patient who developed schizophrenia after an anorexic period of 4 years that began when he was 14 years old with the decision to lose weight, which then progressed to a pattern of disordered eating and body image. This case is rare because the patient is male and has a comorbid diagnosis of anorexia nervosa and schizophrenia. To the best of our knowledge, there is only one previous case report in the literature describing a male anorexic patient with comorbid schizophrenia. In this case presentation, the diagnosis of anorexia nervosa in males is addressed, the definition and significance of sub-threshold cases are discussed, and the comorbidity of anorexia nervosa and schizophrenia are reviewed in light of the literature.