Eating Disorders Flashcards
What are the 3 diagnostic criteria (DSM-5) for anorexia nervosa (AN)?
- Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat
- Significantly low body weight (less than what is ideally expected) in relation to age, sex, development, and physical health
- Disturbance in the way one’s body weight or shape is experienced and denial of the seriousness of the current low body weight.
What are the 4 diagnostic criteria (DSM-5) for bulimia nervosa (BN)?
- Recurrent episodes of binge eating
- Large amounts of food consumed in a short period of time
- Lack of control of eating during this episode - Recurrent compensatory behaviour to prevent weight gain
- Laxatives, vomiting, diuretics, diet, drugs, exercise - Binge eating and compensation 1x/week x 3 months
- Self-evaluation is disproportionately influenced by body shape and weight
True or False? Diagnosis of bulimia requires a specific BMI
False - no specific BMI required (pts are commonly normal to slightly overweight)
What is binge eating disorder (BED)? (6 criteria - don’t really need to memorize, but should read it and know it in general)
- Recurrent episodes of binge eating without compensatory behaviour to prevent weight gain
- Eating, in a discrete period of time, an amount of food much larger than most people would eat during the same period of time
- Lack of control over eating during the episode
- > 3 of the following:
- Eating rapidly
- Eating until uncomfortably full
- Eating large amounts when not hungry
- Eating alone from embarrassment
- Feeling disgusted, depressed or guilty after eating - Binge eating 1x/weekly for 3 months
- Causes marked distress
What is the genetic predisposition for AN and BN?
- AN 22-76% heritability
- Gene defects resulting in a “drive for thinness” and obsessional thinking - BN ~30% heritability
What environmental factors can potentially be a cause of AN or BN? (4)
- Trauma and stress
- Participation in athletics with high focus on weight/thinness
- Societal pressures
- Family dynamics
- Enmeshment, enstrangement, high parental expectations on achievement and appearance, families with difficulties managing conflict, divorce, devaluation of mother
What is neurobiological dysfunction (AN/BN pathophysiology)? (3)
- Starvation, chronic stress, excessive exercise lead to increase release of cortisol from adrenal glands causing suppression of HPA, hypothalamic pituitary thyroid (HPT), and hypothalamic pituitary gonadal (HPG) axes
- Stress is the most common trigger for binge eating leading to HPA dysfunction - HPG: ↓ in estradiol, progesterone, LH production = amenorrhea and ↓ libido
- TSH inhibition reduces T4 –> T3 = reduced resting metabolic rate
What is neurotransmitter dysfunction (AN/BN pathophysiology)? (3)
- 5HT is synthesized from tryptophan (from diet) and regulates postprandial satiety, anxiety, sleep, mood, impulse control, OCD
- ↓ intake in AN - DA deficiencies lead to ↓ energy, anhedonia, ↓ feelings of reward
- NE deficiencies from starvation lead to hypotension, bradycardia
Males vs. females. Which is AN, BN, and BED most common in?
All female
True or False? Anorexia is the deadliest psychiatric illness?
True - about 1 in 10 patients will die from it
What is the common course of AN? (2+3)
- Onset usually related to stressful events
- AN course and outcome is highly variable
- No recovery after 1st episode
- Fluctuating pattern of weight gain and loss
- Chronic deterioration course
What is the common course of BN? (2)
- Onset usually related to stressful events
- BN is chronic or intermittent, with periods of remission and reoccurrence
70% of AN patients have comorbid psych conditions. What are they? (4)
- Anxiety
- OCD (30%)
- Social phobia - Mood disorders
- MDD
- Dysthymia
- BD - Personality disorders - Cluster C spectrum
- Avoidant
- Obsessive compulsive - SUD
What are some comorbid psych conditions typically seen in BN patients? (5)
- Cluster B and C Personality Disorders (30-50%)
- Borderline personality, avoidant, impulsive, narcissistic - Substance use (30%)
- Anxiety disorders
- Obsessive Compulsive
- Panic Disorder
- Social Phobia - Mood Disorders (80%)
- MDD
- Dysthymia
- BD - Impulsive Control Disorder
- Compulsive buying
- Kleptomania
- Self-mutilation
What are the general principles of treatment of eating disorders? (4)
- Approaches emphasize both normalization of eating
behaviour and attention to underlying psychological and
social issues - Consider the eating abnormality to be a coping mechanism, therefore, need to develop other coping mechanisms
- Form a treatment alliance by offering help with symptoms or behaviours which are distressing to the patient
- Identify stressors that predispose to eating disorder
What are the negatives of amenorrhea? That is, without estrogen and normal menstrual cycles, increased risk of: (4)
- Osteoporosis/osteopenia
- Decreased growth velocity
- Lack of sexual desire/sexual dysfunction
- Unexpected pregnancies
- Ovulation occurs prior to menstruation
When attempting to conceive a child, what symptoms do eating disorders produce for the woman? (3)
- Irregular ovulation
- Inhibited sexual desire
- Substance/tobacco use
What are the risks of eating disorders during pregnancy? (7)
- Micronutrient deficiency
- Hyperemesis gravidarum
- Poor weight gain
- Substance/tobacco use
- Miscarriage
- Low birth weight and/or premature infant
- C-section
What are some of the problems that eating disorders can cause postpartum? (5)
- Difficulty breastfeeding
- Failure of infant bonding
- Infant feeding problems
- Relapse of ED behaviours
- Postpartum depression
For a woman recovering from an ED, when will periods return? What is the return associated with?
- Usually occurs within 6 months of achieving a body weight of about 90% of the average for age and height
- Return of cycle is not related to amount of body fat, but with amount of serum estrogen levels
Are patients with AN typically hyperthermic or hypothermic?
Hypothermic
What are some electrolyte disturbances that might be seen in AN? (9)
- Dehydration
- Hyponatremia
- Hypokalemia
- Hypomagnesimia
- Hypocalcemia
- Hypophospatemia
- Hypozincemia (appetite changes and taste disturbances)
- Hypochloremia (if vomiting)
- Hypoglycemia
What HEENT symptoms might be seen in an AN patient? (3)
- Loss of tooth enamel
- Perioral dermatitis
- Enlarged parotid glands
What are some potential neurological signs/symptoms of AN? (3)
- Seizures (related to large fluid shifts and electrolyte disturbances)
- Brain atrophy on CT
- Lethargy
What are some cardiac complications of AN? (4)
- Prolonged QT associated with ED
- Predicts cardiac arrhythmia and sudden death
- Controversial - Cardiac atrophy from starvation
- Changes in blood flow, muscle and collagen fibers
- Alters conduction and ventricular repolarization - QTc > 470 ms increases risk for TdP and cardiac death
- Requires monitoring with serial ECGs
What is myocardial mass in AN? (2 + 4)?
- Prolonged starvation leads to wasted cardiac muscle
- Myofibrillar atrophy and destruction secondary to malnutrition +/- due to decreased preload
- Decreased myocardial mass
- Decreased ventricular cavity size
- MV prolapse
- Decreased contractile forces and CO
What are some other, less common AN cardiac complications? (4)
- Sinus bradycardia
- Due to vagal hyperactivity to decrease energy utilization
- Decreased level of T3 may contribute - Cardiac arrythmias
- Hypokalemia due to malnutrition and diuretic abuse - Decreased heart rate variability
- Due to abnormal autonomic NS function
- Predictor of sudden cardiac death - Hypotension
- Chronic volume depletion
- Decreased cardiac output
What are the AN cardiac outcomes? (4)
- Most CV abnormalities normalize with weight restoration
- QTc returns to baseline
- Persistent MV prolapse
- Little clinical significance - Irreversible myocarditis with emetine toxicity
- Seen with chronic ipecac ingestion
What is the pharmacist’s role in caring for cardiac complications of AN? (5)
- ECG monitoring for arrhythmias, heart rate variability, and prolonged QTc
- Avoid medications that prolong the QT interval
- Monitor for electrolyte abnormalities
- Monitor for orthostatic hypotension
- To avoid refeeding induced CV complications:
- Refeed slowly
- Phosphorus supplementation
- Clinical surveillance in hospital
What are some potential GI symptoms in AN? (8)
- Hypertrophy of salivary glands
- Hypoactive bowel sounds
- Hypomotility
- Gastritis
- Abdominal pain
- Abdominal distension
- Bloating
- Constipation