[Clinical features of adolescent males with eating disorders]

There is a higher prevalence of eating disorders (ED) among adolescent females. These are less common in men and there are clinical differences between genders.

To describe the clinical features of adolescent males with ED.

Review of 38 medical records of male patients with ED seen in an ED Unit in Chile, between 2001 and 2009.

Mean age at first medical visit was 14.4 ± 2.2 years. Symptoms appeared 9.5 ± 8.9 months prior to the first visit. Anorexia nervosa (AN) of the restricting type was diagnosed in 21 patients (55.2%), with a mean weight loss of 11.2 kg ± 9.4 kg. In 37% of patients, there was a past medical history of overweight. All patients either increased or maintained weight during follow up. Sixty three percent had a psychiatric co-morbidity at first visit. After 3 months of treatment, 82% of patients remained in the program.

There was a delay in diagnosis of ED in men. The high prevalence of AN found in this group is characteristic of patients recently diagnosed with ED. Overweight could be a precipitating factor. Nearly two thirds of male ED patients had a psychiatric comorbidity. This high prevalence may suggest a susceptibility to develop ED in males.