Eating disorder patients with and without PTSD treated in residential care: discharge and 6-month follow-up results

Abstract

Plain English Summary Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is common in patients with eating disorders and is associated with higher severity of symptoms and worse outcomes. However, this has not been studied extensively in patients admitted to higher levels of care, such as residential treatment. Using an integrated clinical approach based upon principles of cognitive processing therapy (CPT) and other evidence-based treatments, we studied outcomes at discharge and 6 months following discharge in 609 patients [96% female; mean age (± SD) = 26.0 ± 8.8 years; 22% LGBTQ +] with and without PTSD. All patients improved significantly and remained improved at follow-up compared to admission. However, all measured symptoms, including those of eating disorder, major depression, and state and trait anxiety, and a measure of quality of life, were worse in patients with PTSD at every time point (admission, discharge, and follow-up). The only significant worsening observed was for symptoms of major depression between discharge and follow-up. In conclusion, integrated treatment approaches that address PTSD and related problems can be successfully delivered in residential treatment and are associated with sustained improvements at 6 months following discharge. Improving strategies to prevent post-discharge recurrence of depressive symptoms is an important and challenging area of future work.

Keywords

• Eating disorders
• Trauma
• Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Residential treatment
• Depression
• Anxiety