Co-occurrence of Anxiety Disorders and Eating Disorders

3077 Words7 Pages

Co-occurrence of Anxiety Disorders and Eating Disorders

I. Introduction

Considering the growing preoccupation of teenage girls with their weight and their bodies, eating disorders have become even more of a concern. In light of the fact that mortality in anorexia nervosa is among the highest of all psychiatric disorders, it is increasingly important to understand what causes eating disorders and how best to treat them (Herzog et al., 1996). A meaningful area of research to consider when trying to understand eating disorders is comorbidity. Such psychiatric disorders such as anxiety disorders, affective disorders, personality disorders, and substance abuse have been found to coexist, at least to some degree, with the eating disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. This paper will examine how anxiety disorders have been found to interact with both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

II. Definitions of the Eating Disorders and Anxiety

Disorders

The DSM-IV outlines four criteria for anorexia nervosa (APA, 1994). One, a refusal to maintain body weight over a minimal normal weight for age and height (i.e., weight loss leading to maintenance of body weight less than 85% of that expected). Two, an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight. Three, a disturbance in the way in which one’s body weight, size, or shape is experienced (i.e., denial of the seriousness of current low body weight, or undue influence of body shape and weight on self-evaluation). Four, in post-menarcheal, amenorrhea (the absence of at least three consecutive menstrual cycles). Two types of anorexia nervosa are defined. The binge eating/purging subtype means that the individual engages in recurrent ep...

... middle of paper ...

...nneth S. & Gardner, Charles O (1998). Twin Studies of Adult Psychiatric and

Substance Dependence Disorders: Are They Biased By Differences in the

Environmental Experiences of Monozygotic and Dizygotic Twins in Childhood and

Adolescence?. Psychological Medicine. 28, 625-33.

Lecrubier, Yves (1998). Comorbidity in Social Anxiety Disorder: Impact on Disease

Burden and Management. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 59, 33-8.

Saccomani, L., Savoini, M., Cirrincione, M., Vercellino, F. & Ravera, G (1998). Long-

Term Outcome of Children and Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa: Study of

Comorbidity. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 44, 565-71.

Wonderlich, SA & Mitchell, JE (1997). Eating Disorders and Comorbidity: Empirical,

Conceptual, and Clinical Implications. Psychopharmacology Bulletin. 33, 381-90.

More about Co-occurrence of Anxiety Disorders and Eating Disorders

Open Document