Hospital admission and mortality rates in anorexia nervosa: experience from an integrated medical-psychiatric outpatient treatment.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the effectiveness of an integrated medical-psychiatric treatment of major eating disorders.

DESIGN

Historical cohort study.

SETTING

Outpatient Unit for Protein Energy Malnutrition of the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, "Federico II" University of Naples, time of study: January 1994 to December 1997 PARTICIPANTS: 147 female patients with restrictive or bulimic anorexia nervosa (mean age 19.8 +/- 13.7, BMI 14.7 +/- 2.1 Kg/m2) consecutively attending the outpatient unit between January 1994 and December 1997.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Hospitalization and mortality rates were evaluated up to Jan 1999 with a minimum follow-up of 18 months.

RESULTS

There were 23 admissions to the Clinical Nutrition ward for 19 patients (i.e. 12.9%) mostly due to severe protein energy malnutrition, and 2 deaths, only 1 strictly related to anorexia (mortality rate 0.7%).

CONCLUSIONS

Integrated outpatient medical-psychiatric treatment for major eating disorders is an effective and inexpensive procedure that reduces mortality and admissions due to medical complications in the medium term.