title: Indicators of nutritional status in restricting-type anorexia nervosa patients: a 1-year follow-up study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Despite severely reduced intakes, anorexia nervosa (AN) patients seem to maintain serum biochemical parameters within the safe limit. The aim of this study was to assess the evolution of some traditional serum biochemical indicators of nutritional status in a 1-year follow-up of patients with restricting-type AN.
  
  
  METHODS
  14 adolescent female patients were studied at four different time points: (1) on hospital admission (t0), (2) 1 month later (t1), (3) 6 months after admission (t6) and (4) 12 months after admission (t12). At each time point serum albumin, prealbumin, retinol-binding protein, transferrin, complement factors C3 and C4, zinc and iron status were analysed. 15 healthy adolescents formed the control group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the liver-synthesised proteins, a significant time effect was only demonstrated on transferrin and C3 and C4 (ANOVA, P<0.05). Transferrin level in patients on admission was lower than in controls, increased significantly during the first month and showed an opposite pattern in subjects gaining and non-gaining weight between t1 and t12, decreasing only in the group failing to gain further weight. C3 and C4 decreased significantly in t12. Changes in ferritin and zinc showed significant negative correlations with changes in anthropometrical parameters.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The changes in transferrin, C3 and C4 levels during the out-patient treatment reveal an increased risk of relapses after 1 year since hospital admission. Ferritin and zinc levels seem to be affected by the nutrient requirements for anabolic processes during nutritional recovery.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Metabolismo y Nutrición, Instituto del Frio, CSIC, C/Jose Antonio Novais 10, Madrid 28040, Spain.
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nova
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lopez-Vidriero
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Varela
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Toro
authors.forename: J José
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Casas
authors.forename: A Ascensión
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Marcos
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000097:blood; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism*; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011228:Prealbumin / Q000378:metabolism; D012177:Retinol-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000378:metabolism*; D013997:Time Factors; D014168:Transferrin / Q000032:analysis; D015032:Zinc / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D001798:Blood Proteins; D011228:Prealbumin; D012177:Retinol-Binding Proteins; D012709:Serum Albumin; D014168:Transferrin; D003165:Complement System Proteins; D007501:Iron; D015032:Zinc