title: Eating disorder symptoms and quality of life: where should clinicians place their focus in severe and enduring anorexia nervosa?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between quality of life (QoL), weight, and eating disorder symptoms across treatment in individuals with severe and enduring anorexia nervosa (SE-AN).
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 63 adult females with SE-AN presenting to an outpatient, multisite randomized clinical trial. QoL was assessed using three well-validated QoL questionnaire measures, the EDQOL, SF-12, and WSAS. Participants' weight and severity of symptoms was assessed by Eating Disorder Examination (EDE) and weekly BMI change.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Predictors of QoL were evaluated in the context of concurrent, prospective,1 and lagged mixed-effects models. Changes in both BMI and EDE were found to significantly affect current and future QoL ratings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings suggest that improvements in QoL may be dependent on symptom change and weight gain. Treatments seeking solely to improve QoL may be unlikely to produce lasting change and clinicians should maintain a focus on weight and behavioral symptoms as much as on improvements in QoL.
authors: St George's, University of London, Eating Disorders Research Team, London, United Kingdom.
authors: Bryony
authors: B
authors: Bamford
authors: Christina
authors: C
authors: Barras
authors: Richard
authors: R
authors: Sly
authors: Colleen
authors: C
authors: Stiles-Shields
authors: Stephen
authors: S
authors: Touyz
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Le Grange
authors: Phillipa
authors: P
authors: Hay
authors: Ross
authors: R
authors: Crosby
authors: Hubert
authors: H
authors: Lacey
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011613:Psychotherapy; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D063189:Symptom Assessment; D015430:Weight Gain; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: anorexia nervosa; quality of life; severe and enduring; treatment outcome