A comparison of patients with anorexia nervosa and women who are constitutionally thin

Many of the clinical features of anorexia nervosa (AN) can be secondary problems associated with malnutrition, which mask the primary features of AN. This study aimed to investigate the intrinsic features of AN by comparing AN patients to women who are constitutionally thin (CT).

Twenty-six patients with AN and 53 CT women of similar body mass index (AN: 17.13 ± 1.73 kg/m² , CT: 16.62 ± 0.61 kg/m² ) participated in the study. We examined medical findings, psychiatric features, and disturbed body image between the two groups.

Patients with AN had earlier menarche but less frequent menstrual periods compared to CT women. They had lower blood pressure, lower triiodothyronine, and fasting glucose levels than CT women. Patients with AN had more disturbed body images and restricted diet patterns and also had higher neuroticism compared to CT women.

The patients with AN viewed their current body shape as fatter and had more restrained eating than the CT women. The results suggest that the disturbed body image may be a salient feature of AN differentiating from CT women, the underlying neural mechanism of which requires further study.