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Objective This paper aims to study long-term bone mineral development in former patients with an onset of anorexia nervosa during childhood and adolescence. Methods Bone mineral density (BMD) in lumbar spine and total hip was measured in 39 female participants (mean age = 23.1 years, SD 3.5) an average of 8.1 (±3.3) years after treatment start. Results At follow-up, seven participants (17.9%) still suffered from an eating disorder. Mean BMD in the former patients was within the normal range in the hip but significantly reduced in the spine. Fourteen (36%) of the participants had osteopenia, and three (8%) had osteoporosis in the spine and/or hip. Amenorrhea for more than two years was associated with reduced BMD in the spine, whereas low weight at follow-up was associated with low BMD in both the spine and the hip. Conclusion A large minority of these former patients had low bone mass in young adulthood. In accordance with other studies, our findings support the importance of weight restoration for future bone health in young patients with anorexia nervosa. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Recent research indicates some evidence of neuropsychological weaknesses in visuospatial memory, central coherence and set-shifting in adults with anorexia nervosa (AN). The growing interest in neuropsychological functioning of patients with AN is based upon the assumption that neuropsychological weaknesses contribute to the clinical features of the illness. However, due to a paucity of research on the connection between neuropsychological difficulties and the clinical features of AN, this link remains hypothetical. The main objective of this study was to explore the association between specific areas of neuropsychological functioning and body size estimation in patients with AN and healthy controls. Methods The sample consisted of 36 women diagnosed with AN and 34 healthy female controls. Participants were administered the continuous visual memory test and the recall trials of Rey Complex Figure Test to assess visual memory. Central coherence was assessed using the copy trial of Rey Complex Figure Test, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test was used to assess set-shifting. Body size estimation was assessed with a computerized morphing programme. Results The analyses showed no significant correlations between any of the neuropsychological measures and body size estimation. Conclusion The results suggest that there is no association between these areas of neuropsychological difficulties and body size estimation among patients with AN. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Behavioral studies have shown that anorexia nervosa (AN) is associated with attentional bias to general threat cues. The neurobiological underpinnings of attentional bias to threat in AN are unknown. This study investigated the neural responses associated with threat-detection and attentional bias to threat in AN. Methods We measured neural responses to a dot-probe task, involving pairs of angry and neutral face stimuli, in 22 adult women recovered from AN and 21 comparison women. Results Recovered AN women did not exhibit a behavioral attentional bias to threat. In response to angry faces, recovered women showed significant hypoactivation in the extrastriate cortex. During attentional bias to angry faces, recovered women showed significant hyperactivation in the medial prefrontal cortex. This was because of significant deactivation in comparison women, which was absent in recovered AN women. Conclusions Women recovered from AN are characterized by altered neural responses to threat cues. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Although pregnancy can be associated with adaptive changes in weight and eating behaviour for women with eating disorders, less is known about whether these changes are maintained in the postpartum period. We used a longitudinal design to examine gestational and postpartum weight trajectories in mothers with and without eating disorders in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) conducted by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Methods Fifty-six women reported anorexia nervosa (AN), 636 bulimia nervosa, 3327 binge eating disorder and 69 eating disorder not otherwise specified, purging type. The referent group included 61 233 mothers with no eating disorder. We used a mixed effects model to predict weight change over time by eating disorder subtype. Results Mothers with AN, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and eating disorder not otherwise specified had greater increases in body mass index (BMI) during pregnancy and greater decreases in BMI over the first 6 months postpartum. Women with AN shifted from the underweight BMI range before pregnancy to the normal weight range at 36 months postpartum Conclusions Patterns of maternal weight gain and retention during the perinatal period vary across eating disorder subtype and warrant clinical attention. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Several theoretical models suggest that deficits in emotional regulation are central in the maintenance of anorexia nervosa (AN). Few studies have examined how patients view the relationship between negative affect and anorectic behaviour. We explored how patients with AN manage the aversive emotions sadness, anger, fear and disgust, and how they link these experiences to their eating disorder behaviours. Methods Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 14 women aged 19-39 years diagnosed with AN (DSM-IV). Interviews were analyzed using Grounded Theory methods. Results The participants tended to inhibit expression of sadness and anger in interpersonal situations and reported high levels of anger towards themselves, self-disgust and fear of becoming fat. Different emotions were managed by means of specific eating disorder behaviours. Sadness was particularly linked to body dissatisfaction and was managed through restrictive eating and purging. Anger was avoided by means of restrictive eating and purging and released through anorectic self-control, self-harm and exercising. Fear was linked to fear of fatness and was managed through restrictive eating, purging and body checking. Participants avoided the feeling of disgust by avoiding food and body focused situations. Conclusion Treatment models of eating disorders highlight the significance of working with emotional acceptance and coping in this patient group. Knowledge about how patients understand the relationships between their negative emotions and their anorectic behaviour may be an important addition to treatment programmes for AN. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The aim of this study was to examine symptoms of eating disorders (ED), drive for muscularity and physical activity in a Norwegian adolescent population. Methods A total of 722 adolescents aged 12-18 years (response rate: 83%) filled out a questionnaire containing the Drive for Muscularity Scale, Eating Disorders Inventory subscales Drive for Thinness (EDI-DT), Body Dissatisfaction (EDI-BD) and Bulimia (EDI-B), and questions about amount of and motives for physical activity. Results Eating Disorders Inventory subscale scores were higher, and Drive for Muscularity Scale Score (DMS) scores were lower among girls compared with boys. EDI and DMS were correlated with motives for, but not amount of, physical activity. EDI and DMS were associated in boys, not girls. Discussion The associations between EDI and DMS among boys call for a wider approach when examining ED among boys. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Reluctance to recover may explain poor treatment outcome and high dropout and relapse rates in the treatment of anorexia nervosa (AN). This study systematically explored what AN patients describe as interfering with their wish to recover. Method Two independent samples of women with AN (total N = 36) were interviewed in-depth using a phenomenological study design. Interviews were tape recorded, transcribed and analysed using QSR-NVivo7 (QSR International, Melbourne, Australia) software. Results Seven core obstacles were found to interfere with informants' wish to recover as follows: (i) 'perceiving judgements'; (ii) 'feeling stuck'; (iii) 'feeling distressed'; (iv) 'denying AN'; (v) 'eating'; (vi) 'gaining weight'; and (vii) 'appreciating the benefits'. Conclusion The wish to recover is an autonomously based, fundamental motivational requirement for becoming ready to change. Understanding factors that contribute to this wish adds to the clinician's toolbox in motivational work with AN patients. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]