title: Is amenorrhea a critical criterion for anorexia nervosa?
abstract: The significance of amenorrhea as a criterion for anorexia nervosa was examined. Twelve nonamenorrheic women treated for anorexia were compared with 40 women meeting full DSM-IV criteria. The nonamenorrheic group displayed the same high levels of eating disorder, body-image disturbance, and psychopathology as the amenorrheic group, as measured by the following variables: body-size overestimation on the Image Marking Procedure; body distortion on the Body Distortion Questionnaire; eating disorder on the Eating Disorder Inventory; depression on the Beck Depression Inventory; psychopathology on the MMPI; and external locus of control on the Rotter Locus of Control Scale. Amenorrhea does not appear to be a useful criterion for distinguishing full-syndrome anorexia nervosa from partial-syndrome cases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Cachelin
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Maher
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000568:Amenorrhea / Q000209:etiology*; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D001828:Body Image; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity