Anorexia Nervosa

Evaluation of cognitive function in patients with severe nervosa before and after medical stabilization

July 31, 2020

Journal of Eating Disorders

By Philip S. Mehler, MD, FACP, FAED, CEDS

Rylander M, Taylor G, Bennett S, Pierce C, Keniston A, Mehler PS. Evaluation of cognitive function in patients with severe nervosa before and after medical stabilization. J. Eating Disorders. 8:35-40, 2020.

Purpose and Background of the Cognitive Function Evaluation Study

The purpose of this study was to quantify cognitive deficits in severe anorexia nervosa (AN) before and after medical stabilization.

Methods Used in Study

This was a prospective study of 40 females between the ages of 18 and 50 admitted to a medical stabilization unit with severe AN (%IBW < 70). The primary outcome of the study was change in test scores on the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) at baseline and after medical stabilization.

Results of the Study

There were no statistically significant differences in baseline RBANS scores between AN patients overall and controls (p = 0.0940). There was a statistically significant change in RBANS from baseline 94.1 + 12.7 to medical stabilization 97.1 + 10.6 (p = 0.0173), although notably both mean values fell within the average range. There were no significant differences in baseline RBANS scores between controls and AN-BP patients (p = 0.3320) but significant differences were found between controls and AN-R patients (p = 0.0434).

Conclusion Regarding Cognitive Function in Patients with Severe Anorexia Nervosa

No baseline deficits in cognition were found in this sample of women with severe AN.

Plain English Summary: Understanding the Results and Conclusion

This study sought to identify impairments in cognition in women suffering from severe anorexia nervosa (AN), binge purge subtypes (AN-BP) and restricting subtype (AN-R), relative to healthy volunteers. All subjects were patients on a medical refeeding unit with severe illness. Cognitive testing occurred upon entry into the program and at exit. Surprisingly, our study did not find any difference in baseline cognition between patients with AN as a whole and health volunteers. Patients with AN-R had significant improvements in cognition, but this is likely not clinically relevant.

DOI:

https://jeatdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40337-020-00312-5

Written by

Philip S. Mehler, MD, FACP, FAED, CEDS

Dr. Philip Mehler, MD, FACP, FAED, CEDS founded the ACUTE Center for Eating Disorders and Severe Malnutrition in 2001 and serves as its Executive Medical Director. He began his career at Denver Health…

ACUTE Earns Prestigious Center of Excellence Designation from Anthem
In 2018, the ACUTE Center for Eating Disorders & Severe Malnutrition at Denver Health was honored by Anthem Health as a Center of Excellence for Medical Treatment of Severe and Extreme Eating Disorders. ACUTE is the first medical unit ever to achieve this designation in the field of eating disorders. It comes after a rigorous review process.