Eating disorders Flashcards
What is the scoff questionnaire and what other screening questions can you ask for eating disorders?
S – Do you ever make yourself SICK because you are uncomfortably full?
C – Do you ever worry you’ve lost CONTROL over how much you eat?
O – Have you recently lost over ONE stone of weight in a 3-month period?
F – Do you believe yourself to be FAT when others say you are too thin?
F – Would you say that FOOD dominates your life?
- Do you think you have an eating problem?
- Do you worry excessively about your weight?
How common is anorexia nervosa?
• 1 in 250 females, 1 in 2000 males - may be higher (disguised symptoms)
What is the mortality rate in anorexia nervosa?
• Highest mortality rate of any psychiatry condition (1 in 5 deaths from AN are suicide, others mostly are cardiac arrest)
What are risk factors for anorexia?
• Sociodemographic
10:1 F:M
wealthier socioeconomic groups, models, gymnasts and dancers.
Average onset = 15-16 years, (rare after 30)
strongly related to occidental values such as individualism and the idealisation of thinness and ‘beauty’ for which reason it is sometimes considered to be a culture bound syndrome.
• Biological
16x risk if present in 1st degree relative
o ?genetic and social
• Psychological/psychiatric/medical factors
Anorexia nervosa has sometimes been considered as a struggle for control and identity as a form of escape from the emotional problems of adolescence.
What is the DSM V criteria for anorexia?
o BMI ,18.5
o Core psychopathology
Fear of fatness
Pursuit of thinness
Body dissatisfaction
Body image distortion
Self-value based on weight and shape
• Other common sx/behaviours
• Refusal to maintain weight at more than 85% of expected
• Widespread endocrine disorder involving hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis
o Amenorrhoea in women
o Sexual dysfunction & disinterest in men
• Delayed or arrested puberty (if early onset)
Important patients with AN DO NOT have suppression of appetite, if they do think organic
What CVS symptoms can you get in starvation?
- Bradycardia
- Hypotension
- Sudden death - low K+/Mg+ - prolonged QTc
- Mitral valve prolapse
What renal symptoms can you get in starvation?
- Oedema
- Electrolyte abnormalities (low)
- Renal calculi
- Renal failure
What GI symptoms can you get in starvation?
- Parotid swelling
- Delayed gastric emptying
- Nutritional hepatitis
- Constipation
What MSK symptoms can you get in starvation?
- Osteoporosis
- Pathological fractures
- Short stature
- Muscle cramps
What Endocrine symptoms can you get in starvation?
• Amenorrhoea (low oestrogen from reduced
adipose tissue)
• Infertility
• Hypothyroidism
What haematological symptoms can you get from starvation?
- Anaemia
- Leukopenia
- Thrombocytopenia
What neuro symptoms can you get in starvation?
- Generalised seizures
* Confusional states
What metabolic symptoms can you get in starvation?
- Impaired temp regulation
- Hypoglycaemia
- Impaired glucose tolerance
- Increased growth hormone and cortisol
What Dermatological symptoms can you get in starvation?
- Lanugo hair (thin soft downy unpigmented hair)
* Brittle hair and nails
What CVS features can you get in binge/purge/bulaemia?
• Arrhythmias – prolonged QTc Torsades de
pointes
• Cardiac failure
• Sudden death
What renal features can you get in binge/purge/bulaemia?
- Severe oedema
- Electrolyte abnormalities
- Renal calculi
- Renal failure