Longstanding Eating Disorders and Personality Disorders

Background Eating disorders rank among the ten leading causes of disability among young women, and anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of all mental disorders. Follow-up studies have shown that 20-30 % of patients with eating disorders develop longstanding symptoms, seriously impairing their daily and represents a public health concern. There are very few studies on the course of these patients. Several studies have demonstrated comorbidity between eating disorders and personality disorders. Among patients with eating disorders, the reported frequencies of personality disorders vary from 27% to 77%. Most of the studies are cross-sectional designs, thus unable to catch trends or changes over time. There is a need for prospective longitudinal studies of adult patients using structured diagnostic interviews both for eating disorders and personality disorders. At Modum Bad, a Norwegian psychiatric hospital, the investigators have conducted a follow-up study of patients with longstanding eating disorder 1-, 2- and 5-years after treatment. The aim of the present project is to follow-up the patients additional 17-years after treatment. Objective Investigate the 17-years course and outcome of adult patients with severe and longstanding eating disorders with regard to eating disorder-related symptoms, general symptoms and personality disorders in addition to examining whether personality disorders and sexual abuse in childhood can predict the course and outcome. Method Examining patients 17-years after treatment with standardized interviews and questionnaires.