title: Prediction of low body weight at long-term follow-up in acute anorexia nervosa by low body weight at referral.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The authors investigated the hypothesis that in acute anorexia nervosa a low body weight predicts a poor weight prognosis for the future.
  
  
  METHODS
  The body mass indexes at referral of 272 female patients were examined in relation to the body mass indexes of these patients after a mean follow-up of 9.5 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall correlation between body mass indexes at referral and at follow-up was r = 0.33. Despite this low correlation, the 100 patients with body mass indexes less than 13 kg/m2 at referral had low weights at long-term follow-up. Eleven of the 12 deceased patients were among these 100 patients, as were 24 of the 46 surviving patients whose body mass indexes were 17.5 kg/m2 or less at follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For patients with anorexia nervosa, a body mass index less than 13 kg/m2 at referral indicates a substantial risk for chronic anorexia nervosa and death related to emaciation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Marburg, Germany. Hebebran@post.med.uni-marburg.de
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hebebrand
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Himmelmann
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Herzog
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Herpertz-Dahlmann
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Steinhausen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amstein
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Seidel
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Deter
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Remschmidt
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schäfer
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D017668:Age of Onset; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D004614:Emaciation / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011336:Probability; D011379:Prognosis; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors