Other conditions that can occur with anorexia nervosa

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Other conditions that can occur with anorexia nervosa

It is not clear whether other mental health disorders occur before or as a result of anorexia nervosa. Treatment can be difficult when a person has anorexia along with other mental health disorders. Some of the most common mental health disorders that can be present along with anorexia include:

• Depression, which occurs in up to 50% of people who have anorexia.¹
• Irrational fears (phobias), including social anxiety disorder.
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder.
• Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, marked by a drive for perfectionism, orderliness, and control.
• Panic disorder or panic attacks.
• Post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Substance abuse, which can increase the risk of death in those who also have anorexia.²
• Body dysmorphic disorder, which is an imagined belief that there is a defect in your body or your physical appearance even though none exists, such as seeing yourself as fat when you are thin.

References

Citations

1. Gwirtsman HE, Ebert MH (2000). Eating disorders. In MH Ebert et al., eds., Current Diagnosis and Treatment in Psychiatry, pp. 421–429. New York: McGraw-Hill.

2. Keel PK, et al. (2003). Predictors of mortality in eating disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 60(2): 179–183.

Credits

Last updated:	September 25, 2007
Author:	Jeannette Curtis
Reviewed By:	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine, W. Stewart Agras, MD - Psychiatry
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Pat Truman, MATC