Evolution of serum biochemical indicators in anorexia nervosa patients: a 1-year follow-up study.
BACKGROUND
Long-term studies on the evolution of serum biochemical indicators in anorexia nervosa (AN) patients during treatment are lacking in the literature. Thus, a 1-year follow-up of serum biochemical parameters in a homogeneous group of AN patients was performed.


METHODS
Fourteen restricting-type AN patients were studied on admission to hospital, after 1 month of inpatient treatment and after 6 and 12 months after admission.


RESULTS
Red blood cell count (RBC) and haemoglobin, serum glucose, total protein and the enzyme activities aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (AlP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine kinase (CK) were significantly lower in patients on admission than in the control group. Total protein, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), AST, AlP and CK showed significant changes among time points (anova, P < 0.05). Significant correlations were found between the change in RBC, haemoglobin, haematocrit, and the change in weight and body mass index (r = 0.74-0.86; P < 0.01). High cholesterol and amylase activity were found at all time points. While AST, LDH and CK reached control values within 6 months of treatment, AlP was always lower.


CONCLUSIONS
Serum AlP, hypercholesterolaemia and RBC seem to need longer periods of treatment with further weight gain to fully normalize. Therefore, these parameters should be monitored in AN patients long-term follow-up.
Nova
E
E
Departamento de Metabolismo y Nutrición, Instituto del Frío, CSIC, Madrid, Spain. enova@if.csic.es
Lopez-Vidriero
I
I
Varela
P
P
Casas
J
J
Marcos
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000378:metabolism*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000097:blood* / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000378:metabolism; D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis / Q000379:methods; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004906:Erythrocyte Count; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009752:Nutritional Status; D013997:Time Factors; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology
D001798:Blood Proteins; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase