[The Berlin follow-up study of eating disorders in adolescence. Part 2: Intermediate-term catamnesis after 4 years]

After more than four years, ten patients in a cohort of 60 consecutively-assessed adolescent patients with eating disorders were no longer available for follow-up--four had died and six refused to participate further. The follow-up interviews indicated varying rates of impairment in relation to eating disorders, menstrual anomalies, sexuality and psychosocial functioning. The distribution of continuing disorders at follow-up was a) 10% anorexia nervosa, b) 4% anorexia nervosa with bulimia, c) 18% anorectic and bulimic partial syndromes. The remaining 68% were found to have recovered. During the course of illness, there were few instances of anorectic symptoms crossing over into bulimic ones. A uniform pattern in the disease course was observed throughout the various self-evaluation questionnaires: reduction of symptoms that occurred during the course of the inpatient treatment could also be observed at the time of the follow-up. As compared with the international literature on follow-up studies, these can be considered as favorable findings.