week 11- eating disorders Flashcards
maslows heirarchy of needs
self-actualisation esteem love/belonging safety physiological
Anorexia Nervosa
The Diagnosis of AN
Refusal to maintain weight of at least 85% of expected weight*
Intense fear of gaining weight, though underweight.
Disturbance in body image perception
*A criteria of a BMI < 17.5 is often also used as part of a cutoff for Anorexia.
The presence of amenorrhea is increasingly recognised as neither useful or relevant in diagnosis of AN (Surgenor et al., 2003)
Anorexia Nervosa
prevalance and course
Prevalence
0.5% lifetime prevalence in females
10x more common in females than males
Course
Onset typically in mid to late adolescence
Highly variable course and outcome
The Body Mass Index
<15 = extreme 15-16 = severe 16-16 = moderate >17 = mild <17.5 uextremely underweight (dx point for AN) 17.5-18.5 = underweight 18.5-25 = normal 25-30 = overweight >30 obese BMI = kg/m^2
Common AN Characteristics
Anorexia Nervosa is often complicated by other traits and psychopathology that complicate the picture.
Depression and anxiety symptoms Obsessional features Perfectionism Low self-esteem Social withdrawal Physical complications Lack of insight into / acceptance of need for treatment
Mortality in Anorexia Nervosa
Crude mortality rates for AN range between 0% and 20%
More sophisticated analyses of mortality estimate rates of 0.56% per year (Sullivan, 1995)
Compare with…
Mortality for females age 15-24 = 0.0045% per year
Mortality for female psychiatric inpatients = 0.021% per year
Suicide rate in general population = 0.00002% per year
Predictors of mortality in AN (Keel et al., 2003)
Severity of alcohol use and substance use were correlated with mortality
A regression model incorporating Duration of Illness, Affective Disorder During Hospitalization, Suicidality, and Severity of Alcohol Abuse was significant in predicting mortality.
CBT Conceptualisation of AN
Earliest application of Beck’s CT principles to AN in early 1980s (Garner & Bemis, 1982)
Vitousek (1997)
-Overvalued ideas about personal implications of body shape and weight originating out of personality variables such as perfectionism, etc.
-Sense of Control (Slade, 1982)
Stressed need for control as central feature of AN
Success in dieting reinforces sense of control
The complex nature of control in AN is elaborated in Surgenor (2002, 2003)
CBT Theory of AN Onset
Onset of the Disorder
Need for self-control in context of low-self esteem, perfectionism, and sense of ineffectiveness
Control over eating is focused on as an experience of success/control
Dietary restriction provides immediate evidence of self-control
Control over body shape/weight especially salient to ascetics
Controlling eating has a strong effect on those in the environment, which may already be clouded with dysfunctional relationships
Controlling eating provides a mechanism of arresting or reversing pubertal changes
Western society values dieting to control shape and weight.
CBT Theory of AN Maintenance
Dietary restriction enhances the sense of being in control
- Amount eaten, types of foods, times of eating
- Success at dietary restriction is a potent reinforcer
- Control over eating as expression of control and worth
Aspects of starvation encourage further dietary restriction
- Hunger perceived as threat to control over eating
- Impaired concentration may heighten sense of chaos/uncontrollability
Extreme concerns about shape and weight encourage dietary restriction
-Especially prominent in Western society
Cognitions in Anorexia Nervosa
core beliefs, attitudes and assumptions about the meaning of body weight, shape, personal competence…” (Bowers, 2001, p293).
Cognitions are known to change in AN in response to CBT (Bowers & Ansher, 2000)
The Pro-Anorexia (“Pro-ana”) / Pro-Bulimia (“Pro-mia”) Movement
The Pro-Anorexia (“Pro-ana”) / Pro-Bulimia (“Pro-mia”) Movement
“Pro anorexia is the desire to remain eating disorder thin without the side effects of ill health or the consequences of an eating disorder. And in some cases, accepting the side effects but attempting to simply stay alive.”
CBT with Anorexia Nervosa
The General approach to treatment of AN
- Medical stabilisation / treatment
- Engaging the patient in treatment and maintaining a therapeutic alliance.
- Weight restoration and re-establishment of health eating habits.
- Promotion of healthy eating attitudes and behaviours, and activity levels
- “Psychotherapeutic treatment.
- Maintaining gains / Relapse prevention
May occur on inpatient or outpatient basis (which appear equivalent in efficacy; Crisp, et al., 1991)
Outpatient treatment may follow inpatient admission as relapse prevention.
Healthy Eating Attitudes
The goals of this treatment phase should incorporate the following
Increasing calorific intake Expanding the range of meals Eating discrete meals and snacks Normalising the pace of eating Elimination of purging Elimination of binge eating Avoidance of ‘diet’ foods Eating in the company of others
Measuring Outcome
Eating Diary
Daily records of the time, type and quantity of food eaten can be used to monitor progress.
Ongoing monitoring can reinforce small changes in the gradual recovery.
Weight Taking
A necessary outcome measure
Focus on weight can ‘collaborate’ with aspects of the disorder, leading some authors to recommend discouraging frequent weighing or talking about weight.
Treatment Outcome in AN
CBT for AN has been subjected to few clinical trials to establish its efficacy
Difficulty in recruiting participants
–AN is a low-prevalence disorder
–Patients with AN often do not appreciate need for treatment
Treatment is relatively long in duration, with 6 to 12 month follow-ups required to establish efficacy
Some patients present with physical sequelae that prevent their ethical inclusion in an RCT.
Outcome of Treatment of AN
Steinhausen (2002) Meta-analysis of 119 patient cohorts Total of 5590 patients Variety of different treatment methods. Differences between treatments not assessed
Mean dropout rate of 12.3% across all studies.
recovery ~43%
mortality~5%
chronicity~20%
improvement~32%
