Recently in Books and publications Category
I just came across this brief article about recovery from anorexia in relation to the changes that occur in pregnancy from Grace Bowman in the Guardian.
Eating Disorders: Journal of Treatment and Prevention has a special issue out on eating disorders and trauma. Guest edited by John Levitt and Randy Sansone, the issue contains articles covering the intriguing but traditionally under-researched relationship between these two areas. Brewerton reviews the literature on PTSD and eating disorders, Waller and colleagues examine the links with emotional abuse and Claes and Vandereyken link trauma to self harm. Briere and Scott's article is a review of assessment instruments for trauma - this is a complex area and it's great to have this summary for those who are not trauma experts. In the treatment section of the issue, Levitt presents a model for working with those affected by complex issues of trauma, eating disorders and abuse, using self-regulation theory.
I'm pleased to have received a review copy of 'Skinny Boy: A Young Man's Battle and Triumph over Anorexia' by Gary Grahl. I'm in the process of reading it and will post my thoughts once I'm done, but in the meantime you can read more about the book on the website: Skinnyboybook.com
I've just come across a recent study of prevalence of eating disorders in the US by Hudson and colleagues. It's a community sample of over 9000 people and puts the lifetime prevalence of anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder at .9%, 1.5%, and 3.5% among women, and .3% .5%, and 2.0% among men.
This is interesting because it suggest that eating disorders are more common amongst men than was previously thought. Certainly these rates are higher that you'd find in treatment studies, suggesting that men may be less likely to access treatment - you can think of a number of reasons why this might be the case.
They also make the point that bulimia nervosa and BED seem to be increasing but anorexia does not.
For related issues, see my earlier post on how many people have eating disorders.
A brief but clear and comprehensive review of pharmacological and psychotherapy approaches to bulimia has just been published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders:
In a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Walsh and colleagues studied women who had received psychotherapy for anorexia nervosa and reached the normal range for weight. They then compared fluoxetine (Prozac) and placebo in these women, who continued to receive weekly psychotherapy. The percentage of those remaining in recovery after 1 year was effectively the same in both the active and placebo groups (around 30%). This suggests that Prozac does not help to prevent relapse in anorexia. This finding is in contrast to a small study conducted by Kaye and colleagues in 1991 who suggested there might be a role for antidepressants like Prozac in preventing relapse.
Thanks to Joel Yager for drawing my attention to this (via the AED mailing list).
I just came across an interesting article about obligatory or over-exercise, written by John Draeger, Alayne Yates, and Douglas Crowell and published in The Physician and Sportsmedicine Journal
From the introduction:
'A small group of patients are overly committed to their exercise routines, possibly to the detriment of their physical and psychological well-being. The concept of obligatory exercise is difficult to define, and its prevalence has not been extensively studied. Clinicians who are aware of behavioral and personality descriptors for obligatory exercisers can identify the problem and suggest treatment options. Treatment may follow guidelines similar to those for overtraining, addiction, compulsion, and eating disorders. Preventive measures lie in understanding exercisers' attitudes and beliefs about exercise and their bodies.'
The article's available free online.
The latest issue of the International Journal of Eating Disorders is a special issue devoted to all aspects of anorexia nervosa. Contents are listed below. To get access to the articles, see the journal website.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EATING DISORDERS
VOL 37; SUPP SPECIAL ISSUE ON ANOREXIA NERVOSA; 2005
ISSN 0276-3478
pp. S2-S9
Anorexia Nervosa: Definition, Epidemiology, and Cycle of Risk
Bulik, C. M.; Reba, L.; Siega-Riz, A.-M.; Reichborn-Kjennerud, T.
pp. S10-S14
Translational Approaches to Understanding Anorexia Nervosa
Klein, D. A.; Walsh, B. T.
pp. S15-S19
Neurobiology of Anorexia Nervosa: Clinical Implications of Alterations of the Function of Serotonin and Other Neuronal Systems
Kaye, W. H.; Frank, G. K.; Bailer, U. F.; Henry, S. E.
pp. S20-S21
Commentary: Psychopathology of Anorexia Nervosa
Halmi, K.
pp. S22-S25
Assessment of Anorexia Nervosa
Pike, K. M.
pp. S26-S30
Evidence-Based Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa
Fairburn, C. G.
pp. S31-S34
Health Services Research in Anorexia Nervosa
Striegel-Moore, R. H.
pp. S35-S40
A Community-Based Training Program for Eating Disorders and Its Contribution to a Provincial Network of Specialized Services
McVey, G. L.; Davis, R.; Kaplan, A. S.; Katzman, D. K.; Pinhas, L.; Geist, R.; Heinmaa, M.; Forsyth, G.
pp. S41-S42
Commentary: Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa: More Questions than Answers
Woodside, D. B.
pp. S43-S48
A Review and Primer of Molecular Genetic Studies of Anorexia Nervosa
Klump, K. L.; Gobrogge, K. L.
pp. S49-S51
Functional Neuroimaging in Early-Onset Anorexia Nervosa
Lask, B.; Gordon, I.; Christie, D.; Frampton, I.; Chowdhury, U.; Watkins, B.
pp. S52-S59
Medical Complications in Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa: A Review of the Literature
Katzman, D. K.
pp. S60-S63
Pharmacologic Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa: Where Do We Go from Here?
Attia, E.; Schroeder, L.
pp. S64-S67
Family-Based Treatment of Eating Disorders
Lock, J.; le Grange, D.
pp. S68-S71
Personality and Anorexia Nervosa
Wonderlich, S. A.; Lilenfeld, L. R.; Riso, L. P.; Engel, S.; Mitchell, J. E.
pp. S72-S76
Neuropsychological Studies in Anorexia Nervosa
Tchanturia, K.; Campbell, I. C.; Morris, R.; Treasure, J.
pp. S77-S79
Parenting Concerns of Women with Histories of Eating Disorders
Mazzeo, S. E.; Zucker, N. L.; Gerke, C. K.; Mitchell, K. S.; Bulik, C. M.
pp. S80-S86
The Process of Recovery in Eating Disorder Sufferers' Own Words: An Internet-Based Study
Keski-Rahkonen, A.; Tozzi, F.
pp. S87-S89
Commentary: From Genes to Treatment Response: New Research into the Psychobiology of Anorexia Nervosa
Kaplan, A. S.
pp. S90-S94
The Future of Treatment Research in Anorexia Nervosa
Strober, M.
pp. S95-S97
Diagnostic Criteria for Anorexia Nervosa: Looking Ahead to DSM-V
Mitchell, J. E.; Cook-Myers, T.; Wonderlich, S. A.
pp. S98-S100
Research Training in Anorexia Nervosa
Marcus, M. D.
pp. S101-S102
Federal Advocacy for Anorexia Nervosa: An American Model
Cogan, J. C.; Franko, D. L.; Herzog, D. B.
There have recently been a few papers coming out over the last few years, suggesting that depression may be associated with bone loss, possibly leading to osteoporosis, although the mechanisms for this are not yet clear. As described in several papers which I was involved with at the Institute of Psychiatry, people with anorexia nervosa are also at increased risk for osteoporosis, probably because of both reduced calcium in their diets and because of reduced levels of oestrogen, due to amenorrhea. And today I came across a paper suggesting that the combination of AN plus depression might lead to even higher risk.
Treasure J, Serpell L. (1999) Hosp Med. Jul;60(7):477-80. Osteoporosis in anorexia nervosa.
A recent study by Cash and colleagues, published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology suggests that US women's body image has changed during the 80s and 90s whilst men's body image has stayed pretty stable. At least amongst non-Black women, body image dissatisfaction increased during the early years of the study until the mid 90s, when body image in Black and non-black women seemed to improve. It kind of makes you wonder whether some of the challenging that has gone on in recent year of stereotyped images of women's beauty and the tyranny of thinness may have done some good?
