Medical complications in male adolescents with anorexia nervosa

Medical information on male anorectics is scant. We present data on 10 males with anorexia nervosa, who were treated at our Eating Disorders Center during a twelve-year period.

Retrospective chart review.

All patients were malnourished weighing 80% or less of their ideal body weight with a mean B.M.I. of 13.5 +/- 2.0. Height below the 50th percentile was evident in 80% of the patients, and was below the 10th percentile in 30% of the patients. Structural brain changes on brain computerized tomography scans were noted in seven out of nine patients and more than 50% had mild anemia relative to the Tanner stage. Other findings included a mean presenting heart rate of 68.3 +/- 17: four out of ten patients had presenting heart rates of 80 or greater and of these, three had serious medical problems and were severely malnourished. Two patients had cardiac complications and one had a life-threatening electrolyte disturbance.

Despite the small number of patients, the proportion of male adolescent anorectics with medical abnormalities seems high, and may be due to difficulties in establishing the diagnosis and delay in seeking medical attention. Patients who had heart rates of 80 or greater were perhaps sicker and further along in their development of congestive heart failure, thus explaining their initial relative tachycardia. We suggest a higher index of suspicion for congestive heart failure and closer medical monitoring when a malnourished adolescent with anorexia nervosa presents with relatively elevated heart rates.