title: Participant recruitment for an anorexia nervosa treatment study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the nature of differing recruitment rates for clinical treatment trials for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
  
  
  METHODS
  Recruitment rates from a study recruiting women partially recovered from anorexia nervosa were compared with the rates from two studies conducted at the same sites recruiting women with bulimia nervosa.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At all sites in the anorexia study, the total number of contacts per month rose steadily over the first 2 years of the recruitment phase then decreased to near zero with the number of participants randomized to the study practically evaporating. In contrast, the bulimia studies screened a larger group of contacts and met monthly randomization goals in the time allotted for recruitment. Participants eligible for a study but with a barrier to participation occurred at a much higher rate in the anorexia study than in the bulimia studies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results reveal a difficulty in planning recruitment from a small population such as partially recovered anorexics. A small population's total pool size diminishes faster than it is replenished, suggesting that future studies of anorexia nervosa may recruit more successfully from many sites in a short period rather than at a few sites over a long period.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305-5722, USA.
authors.forename: Christa
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McDermott
authors.forename: W Stewart
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Agras
authors.forename: Scott J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Crow
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Halmi
authors.forename: James E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bryson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D002032:Bulimia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D018579:Patient Selection; D055502:Secondary Prevention; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D005473:Fluoxetine; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors