title: The course and outcome of eating disorders in adults and in adolescents: a review.
abstract: Over 100 studies have been published in the literature to date on the course and outcome of eating disorders. These have generally shown that approximately 50% of patients do well over time, approximately 30% do reasonably well but continue to have symptoms, and approximately 20% do poorly. In this article, the literature on the course and outcome of eating disorders is reviewed from two perspectives. The first is an analysis of studies in adults, looking in depth at a range of issues (weight, eating behaviors, menstrual function, psychosocial functioning, psychosexual function, mortality, bulimia nervosa, long-term follow-up, comorbidity, and prognostic factors) and reviewing the difficulties inherent to the performance of all eating disorders follow-up studies. The second is an analysis of whether adolescents with eating disorders have a better prognosis than adults, as has been considered in the literature. It is concluded that adolescents do, in fact, have a somewhat better prognosis than adults, with the differences seeming to be greater with a longer duration of follow-up.
authors.affiliation: Division of Adolescent Medicine, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, New Hyde Park, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fisher
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D001835:Body Weight; D002032:Bulimia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D011379:Prognosis; D016896:Treatment Outcome