Effectiveness of enhanced cognitive behaviour therapy for patients aged 14 to 25: A promising treatment for anorexia nervosa in transition-age youth.

OBJECTIVE

The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of enhanced cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT-E) on patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) aged 14 to 25 treated in a real-world setting.

METHOD

One hundred and fifteen patients with AN (n = 61, age <18 years) were recruited from consecutive referrals to a clinical eating disorder service offering outpatient CBT-E. Body Mass Index (BMI), BMI centiles, Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire, Brief Symptom Inventory, and Clinical Impairment Assessment scores were recorded at admission, at the end of treatment, and at 20-week follow-up.

RESULTS

The seventy-two patients (62.6%) who finished the programme showed considerable weight gain and reduced scores for clinical impairment and eating-disorder and general psychopathology. Changes remained stable at 20 weeks. A comparison between adolescent and adult patients indicates similar improvements in eating-disorder psychopathology.

CONCLUSIONS

The benchmark data yielded by this study suggest that CBT-E is a well-accepted and promising treatment that could be adopted to ensure continuity of care across the transitional age.