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Objective: Findings show virtual therapy (conducted using internet‐based videoconferencing techniques) to be a viable alternative to in‐person therapy for a variety of mental‐health problems. COVID‐19 social‐distancing imperatives required us to substitute virtual interventions for in‐person sessions routinely offered in our outpatient eating disorder (ED) program—and afforded us an opportunity to compare the two treatment formats for clinical efficacy. Methods: Using self‐report assessments, we compared outcomes in a historical sample of 49 adults with heterogeneous EDs (treated in‐person over 10–14 weeks in individual and group therapies) to those of 76 patients receiving comparable virtual treatments, at distance, during the COVID‐19 outbreak. Linear mixed models were used to study symptom changes over time and to test for differential effects of treatment modality. Results: Participants in both groups showed similar improvements on eating symptoms, levels of weight gain (in individuals in whom gain was indicated), and satisfaction with services. Discussion: Our results suggest that short‐term clinical outcomes with virtual and in‐person ED therapies are comparable, and point to potentials of virtual therapy for situations in which geographical distance or other barriers impede physical access to trained therapists or specialized treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: People who are ill with anorexia nervosa (AN) show altered availability of key plasma nutrients. However, little is known about the patterning of alterations that occurs across diverse nutrients during active phases of illness or about the persistence of any such alterations following remission of illness. Method: We compared plasma levels of one‐carbon metabolism nutrients across women with active AN (AN‐Active: n = 53), in remission from AN (AN‐Remitted: n = 40), or who had no eating‐disorder history (NED: n = 36). We also tested associations between body mass index (BMI) changes and changes in pre‐ to posttreatment nutrient levels, and explored the association between nutrient levels, on the one hand, and BMI and eating symptoms, on the other. Choline, betaine, and methionine were analyzed using mass spectrometry. Folate and B12 were analyzed using the AccuBind® ELISA kit. Eating‐disorder symptoms were assessed by interview and self‐report. Results: Compared to NED individuals, AN‐Active individuals exhibited significantly elevated B12 and (less‐reliably) betaine. In AN‐Active individuals, lower BMI was associated with higher B12. Discussion The observed alterations run contrary to the intuition that plasma nutrient levels should be directly responsive to nutritional status and suggest, instead, the existence of compensatory adaptations to malnutrition in individuals with active AN. Further study is required to clarify mechanisms that underlie such effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]