title: Anorexia nervosa: outcome and prognostic factors after 20 years.
abstract: Forty-one patients with anorexia nervosa, admitted to the Maudsley Hospital between 1959 and 1966, were followed up after a mean of 20 years. An assessment of general outcome (based on the Morgan-Russell scales) yielded three outcome categories: 'good' (n = 12), 'intermediate' (n = 13) and 'poor' (n = 15). Six patients (15%) had died from causes related to anorexia nervosa; at least 15% had developed bulimia nervosa. There was a general consistency between the follow-up at 20 years and that previously conducted five years after admission, although with a few individual patients there were serious prognostic errors at the earlier follow-up. A poorer outcome was associated with a later age of onset, a history of neurotic and personality disturbances, disturbed relationships in the family and a longer duration of illness.
authors.affiliation: Acre Day Hospital, Worthing, Sussex.
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Ratnasuriya
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Eisler
authors.forename: G I
authors.initials: GI
authors.lastname: Szmukler
authors.forename: G F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Russell
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D001828:Body Image; D001835:Body Weight; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008131:London; D008297:Male; D012917:Social Adjustment; D015996:Survival Rate