Title:Medical Complications in Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa
Volume: 18
Issue: 5
Author(s): Giovanni Gravina, Walter Milano, Grazia Nebbiai, Carla Piccione and Anna Capasso*
Affiliation:
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, 84084-Fisciano,Italy
Keywords:
Eating disorders, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, medical complications, psychiatric disorders, malnutrition.
Abstract: Background and Objective: Anorexia Nervosa (AN), Bulimia Nervosa (BN) and their variants
are characterized by persistent alteration of eating behaviour, such as restricted intake or bingeing
and purging, as well as excessive concerns about body shape and body weight. Purging behaviour may
include self induced vomiting and/or abuse of laxatives, diuretics and physical hyperactivity. Unlike
other psychiatric disorders, patients suffering from AN and BN have a high prevalence of many different
medical complications, through the sequelae of undernutrition and purging, often with a serious
impairment of health status and quality of life. This article describes the main diagnostic and clinical
aspects of medical complications in AN and BN.
Results: The medical complications of ED are extremely variable and can occur with only modest
biological and physical damage up to extremely serious and life-threatening conditions; the mortality
rate of young subjects with AN is 4 - 11% with a risk of death about 12 times higher than that of
subjects of the same age of the general population. The management of the medical-internship aspects
of AN and BN is rightly placed within complex and articulated programs of interdisciplinary treatment
with different levels of intensity of care (outpatient, semi-residential/residential, hospital in cases of
emergency/medical and/or psychiatric emergency).
Conclusion: the results of the investigations carried out, describe the functions of the various organs
and apparatuses and the alterations detected, the possible complications and physiological adaptations
to malnutrition.
