Anorexia nervosa 6 years after onset: Part II. Comorbid psychiatric problems

A sample of anorexia nervosa (AN) cases recruited after community screening were contrasted with an age-, sex-, and school-matched comparison (COMP) group with regard to comorbidity at age 21 years, approximately 6 years after the reported onset of the eating disorder. Both groups had originally been examined at age 16 years. Most of the AN cases no longer met criteria for AN, but many continued to meet criteria for bulimia nervosa (BN) or eating disorder NOS. In addition, there was a high rate of obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCDs). Affective disorders had been common throughout the follow-up period, but tended to follow the course of the eating disorder rather than to precede or postdate it. Underlying personality disorders tended to predict poor outcome.