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Somatic involvement assessed through a cumulative score of clinical severity in patients with eating disorders

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Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate the overall somatic involvement in patients with eating disorders (EDs).

Methods

The medical records of 206 patients (age 15–56 years, 96.1 % females) with diagnosis of anorexia nervosa (AN, n = 63, 30.6 %), bulimia nervosa (BN, n = 78, 37.9 %), or eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS, n = 65, 31.6 %) were analyzed. A cumulative score of clinical severity (SCS) was computed according to the presence of physical, instrumental, and laboratory abnormalities, as well as to their prognostic impact. Based on the tertile distribution of SCS, three levels of severity were defined: low, medium, and high.

Results

A medium/high level of severity was found in 63 % of the whole sample, 89 % of AN, 49 % of BN, and 55 % of EDNOS. In the whole sample, the risk of medium/high SCS was significantly and inversely related to the body mass index (BMI) and to the lifetime minimum BMI. The severity level was significantly and positively associated with diagnosis of AN, duration of amenorrhea ≥1 year, and presence of ED-related symptoms. EDNOS patients showed a higher risk for increased SCS than BN patients, although not significantly.

Conclusion

The non-negligible frequency of a relevant somatic involvement in patients with EDNOS suggests that a transdiagnostic scoring system might be helpful to identify ED cases at risk of medical complications.

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Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Department, Eating Disorders Centre, University Hospital “Sant’Anna”, Corso Giovecca, 203, 44121, Ferrara, Italy

    Giovanni Scanelli, Malvina Gualandi & Emilia Manzato

  2. Pulmonary Environmental Epidemiology Unit, CNR Institute of Clinical Physiology, Pisa, Italy

    Marzia Simoni

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  1. Giovanni Scanelli
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  2. Malvina Gualandi
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  4. Emilia Manzato
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Correspondence to Malvina Gualandi.

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Scanelli, G., Gualandi, M., Simoni, M. et al. Somatic involvement assessed through a cumulative score of clinical severity in patients with eating disorders. Eat Weight Disord 19, 49–59 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-013-0065-4

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