Outcome of hospitalised anorexics and bulimics in Cape Town, 1979-1989. A retrospective study

In a retrospective study of 73 girls and women treated in a psychiatric inpatient unit in Cape Town between 1979 and 1989, follow-up data were available for 49 (67%) of them. Internationally recommended measures were used to obtain further data, where possible, from 17 subjects (14 with anorexia, 3 with bulimia) who were 4 and more years post-hospitalisation, as well as 19 subjects (9 with anorexia, 10 bulimia) who had been out of hospital less than 4 years. Indirect information was available from 13 subjects. With regard to long-term outcome, 15 of the 17 subjects fell into the Morgan-Russell categories 'good' or 'intermediate'; in the short-term follow-up group, 14 of the 19 fell into these categories. Indirectly, we also discovered that 3 of the original subjects had died, 4 had remained ill, and 6 had recovered. These findings were similar to those from a previous study from this department and are useful feedback on the comprehensive treatment programme. They also throw light on what appears to be a culture-bound syndrome; at the time of study, the eating disorder affected mainly the middle-class white population, a pattern similar to that found elsewhere in the world.