Fasting gut hormone levels following long-term recovery from Anorexia Nervosa: A cross-sectional study

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), gastric inhibitory peptide (GIP), glucagon, and glicentin are gastrointestinal hormones derived from proglucagon that play crucial roles in regulating appetite and glucose homeostasis. These hormones have been examined during the acute state of anorexia nervosa (AN), with our previous study showing elevated GIP levels in the acute state which normalized following short-term weight restoration. GLP-1 and glicentin concentrations remain unchanged in the acute state, but decrease after short-term weight restoration. However, few studies have investigated whether these alterations are more than mere consequences of the severe underweight, whether they persist after long-term recovery, and whether they could therefore be considered potential trait markers.

In the current study, we assessed fasting serum concentrations of GLP-1, GIP, glucagon, and glicentin in 80 female individuals who had long-term recovered from AN and 100 healthy female controls. For group comparisons, a subset of 70 controls was pairwise age-matched to the recovered patients. Participants were further stratified by oral contraceptive (OC) use.

No significant differences in hormone concentrations, confirmed by Bayesian statistics, were observed between controls and recovered patients, regardless of OC use, except for glucagon levels.

These findings suggest that alterations in gut-secreted hormones associated with glucose homeostasis during the acute, malnourished phase of AN reflect state-dependent changes that do not persist after recovery. OC use in former patients with AN does not affect the concentration of these hormones during recovery.