Bone mineral density in adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa--a cross-sectional study.

Unlabelled: The total body and lumbar spine bone mineral density (BMD) were measured in order to determine the prevalence and possible risk factors of decreased BMD in anorexia nervosa (AN).
Subjects: Sixty-one in-patient girls with DSM III-R AN: age 14.7+/-2.16 years; duration of AN 12.9+/-15.1 months; percentage of ideal body weight 70+/-8.7%; body mass index score -1.62+/-0.79.
Method: Total body (in 61 patients) and lumbar spine BMD (in 43 patients), content of lean and fat tissue mass were measured by DXA during the first month of treatment.
Results: Low total body BMD was found in 23.7% and low lumbar spine BMD in 36.6% of patients. There was a negative correlation between BMD and age, age of menarche, degree of undernourishment, duration of AN and amenorrhea. A step-wise linear regression analysis revealed that age of menarche was the most important factor related to BMD in this group.