Causes of death in patients with a history of severe anorexia nervosa

Abstract

Plain English summary This is a study reporting on causes of death in a cohort of 35 patients with severe anorexia nervosa (AN), who were treated between 2012 and 2020. Three hundred and seventy patient names were submitted to the National Death Index (NDI). The NDI reviewed whether a death certificate matching each patient’s identifying information existed, and if it existed, specific causes of death were noted. The original group of 370 patients consisted of 229 individuals who had been treated voluntarily and 141 who had been treated involuntarily. Thirty-five of the 370 patients (9.4%) submitted to the NDI were confirmed deceased. Eighty-three percent were female with an average age of 38.5 years (SD:12.7) and average body mass index (BMI) of 12.8 kg/m2 (SD:2.4). The total number of patients with AN listed as a cause of death was 24 (69%). Twenty-eight (80%) of the patients had a specific medical disease listed as a cause of death, with the most frequent being cardiovascular, metabolic, or gastrointestinal. Two patients died as a result of suicide. We concluded that AN is associated with a substantial risk of death from many medical causes. However, two (5.7%) of our sample died by suicide, a rate considerably lower than previously reported.

Keywords

• Death
• Severe anorexia nervosa
• National Death Index (NDI)
• Suicide