See the published version of this article at Journal of Eating Disorders.
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Research article
A comparison of eating disorder symptomatology, psychological distress and psychosocial function between early, typical and later onset anorexia nervosa
Zoe Jenkins
St. Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8551-0792
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
View the published version at Journal of Eating Disorders.
Objective: Epidemiological studies suggest that the incidence of anorexia nervosa (AN) is increasing in younger populations, with some evidence that clinical differences occur according to age of onset (AOO), which may impact prognostic outcomes. The current study sought to compare eating disorder (ED) symptomatology, psychological distress and psychosocial function between early onset (EO), typical onset (TO) and later onset (LO) AN in a large sample of treatment-seeking patients with a diagnosis of AN.
Methods: Participants included 249 individuals with a diagnosis of AN who were assessed at an outpatient ED service. The sample was divided into three groups based on AOO; those with an AOO ≤14 years (N=58) were termed ‘EO-AN’, those with an AOO between 15-18 years (N=113) were termed ‘TO-AN’ and those with an AOO of > 18 years (N=78) were termed ‘LO-AN’. Comparisons were made between AOO groups on assessments of ED symptomatology, psychological distress and psychosocial function.
Results: EO-AN patients reported a significantly longer illness duration than both TO-AN and LO-AN groups. After controlling for effect of illness duration, the EO-AN group demonstrated significantly higher ED symptomatology and dysmorphic concern compared to the LO-AN group. The EO-AN group demonstrated significantly decreased cognitive flexibility compared to both the TO-AN and LO-AN groups.
Discussion: These findings suggest that clinical differences do occur according to AOO in AN whereby EO-AN may represent a more severe form of illness that is not attributable to increased illness duration. Treatment strategies which specifically address patients with EO-AN may improve long term health outcomes and recovery.
Keywords
Anorexia nervosa, Age of onset, Eating disorders, Depression, Anxiety, Stress, Psychosocial
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CURRENT STATUS: Published
Version 2
Posted 28 Sep, 2020
Published
On 04 Nov, 2020
No community comments so far
Editor assigned
On 24 Sep, 2020
Editorial decision: Accept
On 24 Sep, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 23 Sep, 2020
Editor invited
On 23 Sep, 2020
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Major Revision
On 26 Aug, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 09 Aug, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 20 Jul, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 18 Jun, 2020
Editor assigned
On 27 May, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 26 May, 2020
Editor invited
On 26 May, 2020
First submitted
On 21 May, 2020
Metrics
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PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
Subject Areas
Epidemiology
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This preprint is under consideration at Journal of Eating Disorders. A preprint is a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
Research article
A comparison of eating disorder symptomatology, psychological distress and psychosocial function between early, typical and later onset anorexia nervosa
Zoe Jenkins
St. Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8551-0792
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Published
Version 2
Posted 28 Sep, 2020
Published
On 04 Nov, 2020
No community comments so far
Editor assigned
On 24 Sep, 2020
Editorial decision: Accept
On 24 Sep, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 23 Sep, 2020
Editor invited
On 23 Sep, 2020
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Major Revision
On 26 Aug, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 09 Aug, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 20 Jul, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 18 Jun, 2020
Editor assigned
On 27 May, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 26 May, 2020
Editor invited
On 26 May, 2020
First submitted
On 21 May, 2020
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
Subject Areas
Epidemiology
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
View the published version at Journal of Eating Disorders.
Objective: Epidemiological studies suggest that the incidence of anorexia nervosa (AN) is increasing in younger populations, with some evidence that clinical differences occur according to age of onset (AOO), which may impact prognostic outcomes. The current study sought to compare eating disorder (ED) symptomatology, psychological distress and psychosocial function between early onset (EO), typical onset (TO) and later onset (LO) AN in a large sample of treatment-seeking patients with a diagnosis of AN.
Methods: Participants included 249 individuals with a diagnosis of AN who were assessed at an outpatient ED service. The sample was divided into three groups based on AOO; those with an AOO ≤14 years (N=58) were termed ‘EO-AN’, those with an AOO between 15-18 years (N=113) were termed ‘TO-AN’ and those with an AOO of > 18 years (N=78) were termed ‘LO-AN’. Comparisons were made between AOO groups on assessments of ED symptomatology, psychological distress and psychosocial function.
Results: EO-AN patients reported a significantly longer illness duration than both TO-AN and LO-AN groups. After controlling for effect of illness duration, the EO-AN group demonstrated significantly higher ED symptomatology and dysmorphic concern compared to the LO-AN group. The EO-AN group demonstrated significantly decreased cognitive flexibility compared to both the TO-AN and LO-AN groups.
Discussion: These findings suggest that clinical differences do occur according to AOO in AN whereby EO-AN may represent a more severe form of illness that is not attributable to increased illness duration. Treatment strategies which specifically address patients with EO-AN may improve long term health outcomes and recovery.