Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 27/33 Szpitalna St., 61-572 Poznan, Poland.
Poznan University of Medical Sciences Doctoral School, 61-701 Poznan, Poland.
Nutrients. 2024 Oct 10;16(20):3435. doi: 10.3390/nu16203435.
The present study aimed to evaluate cognitive function and laboratory parameters in adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa (AN) before and after nutritional rehabilitation (NR) compared to healthy female peers (CG).
We evaluated 36 girls with AN at two-time points, during acute malnutrition (AN1) and after NR, in a partially normalized weight status (AN2). We compared their cognitive functions and laboratory parameters to 48 healthy CG subjects. Cognitive function was assessed using a Cognitive Assessment Battery (CAB) assessment, depressive symptom levels were assessed using a Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) assessment, and eating disorders were assessed using an Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26).
The AN1 group scored better in total cognition, attention, estimation, and spatial perception than the CG group ( < 0.05), with scores increasing in the AN2 group. Shifting and visual perception values did not differ between the study groups ( = 0.677, = 0.506, respectively). Laboratory tests showed no significant abnormalities and did not differ significantly between groups ( > 0.05). There was a negative correlation for EAT-26 and CAB in the AN1 group (rho = -0.43, = 0.01), but not for BDI.
Cognitive function in adolescent girls with AN was better than CG and correlated with EAT-26 score. These results highlight the high compensatory capacity of the adolescent body to maintain cognitive function despite severe malnutrition. Our results suggest that although normalization of body weight is crucial, other factors can significantly influence improvements in cognitive function. Cognitive deficits and laboratory tests may not be biomarkers of early forms of AN.
本研究旨在评估神经性厌食症（AN）青少年在营养康复（NR）前后的认知功能和实验室参数，与健康女性同龄人（CG）进行比较。
我们在急性营养不良（AN1）和 NR 后部分体重正常化状态（AN2）时评估了 36 名 AN 女孩。我们将她们的认知功能和实验室参数与 48 名健康 CG 受试者进行了比较。认知功能采用认知评估电池（CAB）评估，抑郁症状水平采用贝克抑郁量表（BDI）评估，饮食障碍采用饮食态度测试（EAT-26）评估。
AN1 组在总认知、注意力、估计和空间感知方面的得分均优于 CG 组（<0.05），AN2 组的得分有所提高。转换和视觉感知值在研究组之间没有差异（=0.677，=0.506）。实验室检查未显示明显异常，组间差异无统计学意义（>0.05）。在 AN1 组中，EAT-26 和 CAB 呈负相关（rho=-0.43，=0.01），但 BDI 无相关性。
患有 AN 的青春期女孩的认知功能优于 CG，与 EAT-26 评分相关。这些结果突出表明，尽管体重正常化至关重要，但其他因素可以显著影响认知功能的改善。我们的结果表明，尽管认知缺陷和实验室测试可能不是早期 AN 的生物标志物，但认知功能可能与饮食态度测试有关。
