Eating Disorders & Obesity - Russeth Flashcards
What differentiates anorexia from avoidant / restrictive food intake disorder?
- Both feature weight loss and restricted food intake
- Anorexia also has disordered body image
What differentiates binge-eating disorder from bulimia?
- Both feature binging / overeating.
- Bulimia also features purging behavior (vomiting, excessive laxative use, etc.)
Describe some of the general features of anorexia nervosa.
- Intense pursuit of weight-loss & self-induced starvation
- fear of becoming obese
- dieting & excessive exercise
- paradoxically focused on food
- Disturbance in body image
- Believe they are fat even though they are thin
- Medical signs & symptoms of starvation
What are the DSM IV criteria for anorexia nervosa?
(Bonus: What changed from DSM IV to DSM V?)
- Weight loss to <85% of ideal body weight or failure to make expected weight gains in children & adolescents
- Changed to just “significantly low weight” in DSM V
- Intense fear of gaining weight or behaviors that interfere with weight gain
- Disturbance in how one perceives thier body
- Amenorrhea for 3 months in post-menarcheal females
- This criteria was removed in DSM V
What subtypes of anorexia nervosa exist?
- Restricting Type (most common)
- Binge-eating / purging type
- Differentiate from bulimia on basis of the patient’s weight and other classical symptoms of anorexia (e.g. amenorrhea)
What BMI corresponds to a cetegorization of anorexia nervosa as:
- Mild?
- Moderate?
- Severe?
- Extreme?
- Mild: >17
- Moderate: 16-16.99
- Severe: 15-15.99
- Extreme: <15
What is binging/purging?
- Eating a large amount in a short period
- Compensatory behavior ot get rid of the food/weight
- Feelings of loss of control during episode
What physiological signs of starvation would be noted when measuring a patient’s vitals?
- Hypotension
- Bradycardia
- Hypothermia
What physiological signs of starvation can be noted in the following organ systems? (1 of 2)
- Cardiac
- Skeletal
- Endocrine
- Cardiac
- Bradycardia
- Hypotension
- Syncope
- EKG changes
- Arrhytmias
- Sudden Death
- Skeletal
- Osteopenia
- Osteoporosis
- Endocrine
- Decreased LH, FSH, & estradiol, abnormal TSH
- Cold intolerance, hypothermia
- Decreased libido, amenorrhea
What physiological signs of starvation can be noted in the following organ systems? (2 of 2)
- Dermatologic
- Hematologic
- Gastrointestinal
- Neurologic
- Dermatologic
- Dry skin
- Alopecia
- Lanugo (fine baby-like hair over the body)
- Hematologic
- Pancytopenia
- Gastrointestinal
- Delayed gastric emptying
- Constipation
- Neurologic
- Fatigue, weakness
- Reduction in brain mass/volume
- Cognitive deterioration
Describe the demographics of anorexia nervosa.
What is the #1 risk factor for the disease?
- Females > Males, 10:1
- Onset typically in mid-teens. Increasing in preadolescents!
- 1% of the population
- 5% of population shows subclinical signs
- #1 Risk Factor: Dieting!
Are there believed to be genetic factors that contribute to developing anorexia nervosa?
Yes.
Higher rates in monozygotic twins.
Strong family history for mood disorders.
What type of psychological factors/features are often seen in anorexia nervosa patients?
- Perfectionist, harm-avoidant, high-achieving
- Feel helpless, not able to establish autonomy, demands to increase independence
- Focus on food vs. “normal” activities
- Maturation fears: fear of becoming an adult, being shapely or sexual
What other conditions should be ruled out (aka on your differential) before making a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa?
- Brain tumor or cancer
- Other psychiatric disorder:
- Depression
- Somatization
- Schizophrenia
- Bulimia
What is the **most lethal **psychiatric disorder?
Anorexia nervosa! 7-18% mortality rate.
(75% have good to moderate prognosis)
May require impatient medical stabilization
Key point: Don’t ignore weight loss in teenage patients!
Describe the treatment of anorexia nervosa.
- Food is the best treatment!
- Hospitilization if needed
- Correct dehydration, electrolyte abnormalities
- Reinstate nutrition, correct metabolic abnormalities
- Treatment team is key
- PCP, psychiatrist, dietician, psychotherapist
What is refeeding syndrome?
- Dangerous shift in fluid and electrolytes during nutritional rehabilitation
- Risk related to:
- Amount of weight lost
- Rapidity of weight restoration
- Can be life-threatening
- Hypophosphatemia
- Delirium
- Arrhythmias & Cardiac Arrest
What kinds of psychotherapy are used to treat anorexia nervosa? Name three specific methods.
- Family, individual, and group therapy
-
Maudsley Family Based Treatment:
- Parents play active role in restoring weight, gradually hand over control back to patient
-
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT):
- Address cognitive distortions
-
Dielectical behavioral therapy (DBT):
- Address behaviors that interfere with treatment
-
Maudsley Family Based Treatment:
What kinds of medications are used to treat anorexia nervosa?
- No medication has consistently shown benefit for the core symptoms of anorexia nervosa. None are indicated.
- Medications are used to treat psychic comorbidities
- Depression, social phobia, OCD, etc.
What are the DSM IV criteria for bulimia nervosa?
(Bonus: How did they change in DSM V?)
- Recurrent episodes of binge eating followed by inappropriate compensatory behavior in order to prevent weight gain
- Episodes occur at least twice a week for three months
- DSM V seperates binge eating and compensatory behaviors into two criteria and requires episodes of each occur at least once per week for 3 months
- Self evaluation is unduly influenced by body shape and weight
- The disturbance does not occur exclusively during anorexia nervosa
What are the DSM IV subtypes of bulimia nervosa?
- Purging type
- Nonpurging type
- These were removed in DSM V
How is the “severity” of bulimia nervosa ranked? What falls under each category?
- Mild
- Moderate
- Severe
- Extreme
- Based on # of compensatory behavior episodes per week
- Mild: 1-3
- Moderate: 4-7
- Severe: 8-13
- Extreme: 14+
What types of compensatory behaviors exist in bulimia nervosa? Name 5.
- Purging
- Vomiting
- Misuse of laxatives, diuretics, enemas
- Other
- Excessive exercise
- Restrictive dieting
- Skipping meals
What physical exam findings of bulimia can be noted by observation alone?
- Swollen cheecks
- Parotid gland hypertrophy or infection
- Metacarpal-phalangeal calluses (Russel’s signs)
- Abrasions on knuckles from scraping against teeth
- Dental erosions and caries from gastric acid in the mouth
- Front teeth that are chipped or ragged and “moth-eaten”