Anorexia nervosa, psychopathology, and outcome.
OBJECTIVE
To examine for specificity of Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI) ratings and differences in self-reported cognitions and clinical outcome between adolescent cases of anorexia nervosa (AN) with and without comorbid depression.


METHODS
Thirty-five subjects with AN and matched psychiatric and community controls received the EDI and a structured diagnostic interview. AN subjects were followed up at 1 and 2 years using the EDI and a semistructured interview to assess outcome.


RESULTS
Subjects with AN and those with other psychiatric disorders scored similarly on the EDI. Differences between AN cases and community controls were marked for comorbid cases but rare for noncomorbid cases. Comorbid AN cases had an equally good outcome compared to those with AN alone.


CONCLUSIONS
Abnormal cognitions reported in the EDI are much greater in those cases with comorbid depression, but neither the presence of depression nor high EDI scores appears to adversely affect prognosis.
North
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Child and Family Consultation Service, North East Essex Mental Health Trust, Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, England.
Gowers
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D000293:Adolescent; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000523:psychology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity