Abstract
Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are serious psychiatric illnesses related to disordered eating and distorted body images. They both have significant medical complications associated with the weight loss and malnutrition of anorexia nervosa, as well as from the purging behaviors that characterize bulimia nervosa. No body system is spared from the adverse sequelae of these illnesses, especially as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa become more severe and chronic. We review the medical complications that are associated with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, as well as the treatment for the complications. We also discuss the epidemiology and psychiatric comorbidities of these eating disorders.
Keywords
Clinical Significance
- •Anorexia nervosa and bulimia have many medical complications associated with them.
- •In anorexia nervosa, the medical complications are due to weight loss and malnutrition.
- •In bulimia, the medical complications are due to the mode and frequency of purging.
- •Most complications are reversible with early effective treatment.
Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are serious psychiatric illnesses with substantial morbidity and mortality. Anorexia nervosa is the psychiatric illness with the highest mortality rate.
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Mortality also is increased in patients with bulimia nervosa.8
In both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, much of the increased mortality rate is attributable to the medical complications inherent to these 2 illnesses.Although anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are defined as separate disorders in the psychiatric Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5th Edition,
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they both fall into the category of disordered eating, driven by an irrational fear of normal body weight and a desire for thinness, and leading to body image distortion.10
Cultural ideals of beauty and thinness may incite the development of disordered eating in vulnerable individuals, who have a genetic predisposition toward anxiety and perfectionism.11
Both starvation and purging may initially calm these feelings of anxiety and reduce obsessions and compulsions via a serotonergic neuronal pathway.12
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During the course of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, comorbid mental disorders also emerge as a result of altered neurotransmitter metabolism or endocrine changes that result from caloric deprivation.
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Approximately 50% of adolescent patients with anorexia nervosa meet criteria for at least 1 comorbid psychiatric illness.18
Eating disorders are strongly associated with mood and anxiety disorders, and the type and severity of these comorbidities are increased in patients who have the most severe eating disorders.19
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In addition, patients with bulimia nervosa who have comorbid borderline personality disorder have poorer outcomes than those without borderline personality disorder when both groups are treated with psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy.
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Psychiatric comorbidity, as well as a history of suicidal or self-harm ideation, and comorbid mental illnesses all confer an increased risk of death in patients with eating disorders.25
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Problems socializing and difficulties with being assertive are factors that contribute to maintaining an eating disorder.29
Temperament traits of harm avoidance, combined with high reward dependence, are protective factors seen more commonly in patients who recover from eating disorders.30
Treatment of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa is multidimensional. In addition to nutritional rehabilitation, cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy and family therapy have been shown to be effective in treating patients with anorexia nervosa,
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although the benefit of these therapies have been noted primarily in the weight maintenance phase of treatment.32
There is only minimal to moderate evidence that psychiatric medications are efficacious in treating patients with anorexia nervosa. Despite the prevalence of mood and anxiety symptoms in patients with anorexia nervosa, medications used to treat these conditions are not necessarily useful treatment adjuncts for reducing the symptoms of anorexia nervosa. In one study, fluoxetine assisted in preventing relapse in weight-restored patients with anorexia nervosa.
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However, this finding was not replicated in a subsequent study.34
Although there may be evidence for using antidepressants in the weight maintenance phase, antidepressants do not ameliorate eating disorder pathology in patients who are acutely underweight.35
The poor response to antidepressants is believed to result from starvation-induced abnormalities in serotonin receptors.36
In addition to concerns regarding the efficacy of antidepressants in patients with anorexia nervosa, there is also considerable debate as to the efficacy of antipsychotics in treating their symptoms. Low-dose antipsychotic medications may be useful in treating delusional beliefs regarding body image, intense ruminations about food, and the hyper-arousal and anxiety induced by having to face weight restoration.
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Although atypical antipsychotic medications promote weight gain in normal-weight individuals, they do not have this effect in patients with anorexia nervosa.35
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However, patients with eating disorders may not accept reassurance in this regard. Despite the paucity of associated weight gain, there remains concern that the risk of using these medications outweighs their potential benefit.40
First-generation antipsychotics (typical antipsychotics) lower the seizure threshold. Side effects of second-generation antipsychotics (atypical antipsychotics), such as orthostasis, prolonged rate-corrected QT (QTc), and hepatotoxicity, are of concern.Despite continued debate regarding the usefulness of pharmacotherapy in patients with anorexia nervosa, pharmacotherapy for bulimia is well established. Fluoxetine (at doses of ≥60 mg) is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for bulimia nervosa, and other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (as well as other classes of antidepressants) have been found to be useful in treating patients with bulimia nervosa.
32
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The effect of fluoxetine in treating the symptoms of bulimia nervosa seems to be independent of its effects on mood and is reportedly related to the effects of the medication on satiety, thereby reducing binge eating.41
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Cognitive behavioral therapy is a well-established psychotherapeutic treatment for bulimia nervosa.32
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Medical Complications of Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia nervosa can adversely affect almost every body system. The complications arise as a direct result of weight loss and malnutrition. However, there are no studies that define which body mass index is associated with a particular medical complication. The eyes may be affected by lagophthalmos, wherein the eyelids do not totally cover the eye during sleep, resulting in irritation to the cornea and mild ocular discomfort.
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Treatment involves taping the eyes shut at night after first applying a sterile lubricant.Gastrointestinal
Dysphagia can frustrate the ingestion of oral calories during the early stages of refeeding. It is due to weakened and uncoordinated pharyngeal muscles. As a result, patients may experience coughing with eating or have a history of aspiration pneumonia. The diagnosis is made by a modified barium swallow test, and the treatment depends on weight restoration and input from a speech therapist to define proper food consistencies.
45
Patients with anorexia nervosa have significantly slowed gastric emptying at their nadir weights that is accompanied by early satiety, nausea, and bloating.46
This gastroparesis ultimately resolves with weight gain, but symptoms may respond early on to low-dose, short-term use of metoclopramide before meals. Acute gastric dilatation is a serious condition that can lead to gastric perforation if not recognized early.47
It can occur independently as an isolated finding in the early phases of refeeding or as a result of the superior mesenteric artery syndrome.48
Superior mesenteric artery syndrome is defined by the extrinsic compression of the third portion of the duodenum by the superior mesenteric artery, due to loss of a fatty tissue pad that normally maintains the angle between the superior mesenteric artery and the aorta. Significant left upper quadrant abdominal pain with eating, emesis during the meal, and early satiety should prompt an evaluation for gastric dilatation or superior mesenteric artery syndrome via an abdominal radiograph or computed tomography scan. Treatment of superior mesenteric artery syndrome is aimed at weight restoration to reconstitute the fat pad. This can be achieved by a soft or liquid oral diet or by enteral feeds via a nasojejunal tube or a percutaneously placed one.49
Acute gastric dilation is first treated by gastric decompression with a nasogastric tube, followed by treatments similar to those used in superior mesenteric artery syndrome. Just as there is slowing of the proximal gastrointestinal tract, there is also slowing of colonic function, resulting in constipation as an accompanying symptom in anorexia nervosa.50
Osmotic laxatives are useful along with reassurance that the patient's prior bowel pattern should return over a few weeks with ongoing progressive nutritional rehabilitation.Elevated liver transaminases occur frequently at patients' nadir weights.
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This generally represents apoptosis, a programmed hepatocyte death as a result of malnutrition. Aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase are the most frequently affected in a range of 2 to 4 times elevated, but severe elevations also have been reported to occur.52
Alanine aminotransferase is more elevated than aspartate aminotransferase. The prevalence of liver enzyme abnormalities correlates with lower body mass index, hypoglycemia, and the development of refeeding hypophosphatemia.53
Progressive nutritional support will resolve these elevations over the first few weeks of refeeding. Typically, alkaline phosphatase and bilirubin are not affected. Less frequently, elevations of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase may be due to steatosis as a result of actual refeeding. A liver ultrasound can help elucidate the cause because in steatosis, a fatty enlarged liver will be noted.54
Cardiac
As noted earlier, anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality of any psychiatric disorder. Sudden cardiac death along with other medical complications and suicide account for approximately 60% of the deaths. The exact cause of sudden death in anorexia nervosa remains unknown. Autopsy studies do not reveal evidence of obstructive coronary artery disease.
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It has been postulated that alterations in cardiac conduction and repolarization contribute to heightened mortality though a single unifying mechanism. Generally, bradycardia is noted in patients and reflects heightened vagal tone in the setting of substantial weight loss. This often recovers with restoration of body weight. A resting heart rate of less than 60 beats per minute, for example, was seen in 95% of patients in a consecutive series.56
Sinus bradycardia in and of itself does not require specific therapy, but current guidelines recommend hospitalization for a heart rate less than 40 beats per minute. High-grade atrioventricular block is exceedingly rare and suggests underlying structural heart disease that may be unrelated to anorexia nervosa itself. Temporary pacemakers are rarely required. Persistent junctional rhythm has been described among patients with severe anorexia nervosa, which may be extinguished with exercise.57
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Patients may present with prolongation of the QTc interval on surface electrocardiography, and a commonly held belief was that this is the primary cause of sudden cardiac death. However, this relationship is confounded by concurrent QTc-prolonging medications and depletion of serum potassium and magnesium levels. In a series of patients with severe anorexia nervosa, marked QTc interval prolongation (>500 ms) was actually uncommon in the absence of contributing factors.
59
Facchini and colleagues60
observed 29 patients with anorexia and found marked QTc prolongation in only 2 individuals.60
Both had profound hypokalemia, and after potassium repletion, the QTc interval normalized. Therefore, to date, an independent causal pathway among anorexia nervosa, QTc prolongation, torsade de pointes, and sudden cardiac death has not been demonstrated. Expectant management of delayed repolarization is generally adequate and includes electrolyte repletion, discontinuation of QTc-prolonging medications, and serial 12-lead electrocardiography.Severe anorexia nervosa is also known to change cardiac structure. Many patients develop left ventricular atrophy and subsequent annular changes that lead to mitral valve prolapse. Patients occasionally develop pericardial effusions, which are generally self-limited and resolve with weight restoration. Among the most prominent cardiovascular structural abnormalities is a substantial reduction in left ventricular myocardial mass with preserved left ventricular systolic function. This is generally reversible with refeeding. One study demonstrated myocardial fibrosis/scar manifested by late gadolinium enhancement on magnetic resonance imaging in approximately one quarter of patients.
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Although echocardiographic atrophy and fibrosis by magnetic resonance imaging have been demonstrated, histologic abnormalities in the heart have been poorly characterized until very recently: A published autopsy report showed left ventricular atrophy with endocardial and interstitial fibrosis, focal myxoid material deposition with mast cells, and increased cytoplasmic lipofuscin.62
Although most cardiac structural abnormalities are reversible in this condition, the presence of myocardial scar suggests that malignant arrhythmias remain a possible mechanism of increased mortality in this disease.Pulmonary
As opposed to the cardiac system, the lungs are not adversely affected for the most part. There seem to be some pulmonary function test abnormalities associated with anorexia nervosa that are similar to those seen with emphysemia.
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It is not clear whether this impairment recedes with refeeding. Spontaneous pneumothorax has been reported in anorexia nervosa along with prolonged air leaks.64
Hematology
As anorexia nervosa becomes worse, there is trilinear hypoplasia causing anemia, leukopenia, and thrombocytopenia. Anemia occurs in 40% of these patients, with leukopenia noted in 30% and thrombocytopenia in approximately 10%.
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The cytopenia are due to gelatinous marrow transformation with atrophy of the normal fat content in the marrow and replacement by a mucopolysacharide.66
Typically, iron deficiency is not found, and red cell indices are normal. Although often neutropenic, surprisingly, these patients do not appear to be more susceptible to infectious complications.67
However, they also do not manifest a typical febrile response to infections and inflammatory markers are suppressed, which can cause a delay in the diagnosis of an infection.68
The cytopenias resolve with weight restoration; growth factors are not indicated in anorexia nervosa.69
Plasma levels of vitamin B12 and folate recently have been found to be increased. The increase is artificial because it was found to be due to hepatocyte dysfunction with leakage of the vitamins from these cells.70
Musculoskeletal
Osteoporosis is common in anorexia nervosa and occurs early in the disease.
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Decreased bone density is evident after just 1 year of anorexia nervosa, notwithstanding the relatively young age of these patients. The risk of subsequent fragility fractures is markedly elevated both in adults and in adolescents with anorexia nervosa.72
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Fracture incidence increases soon after diagnosis of anorexia nervosa and remains so many years later. This is one of the rare complications of anorexia nervosa, which may leave irreversible damage even after recovery. Thus, there is a need for obtaining bone density testing in all patients with a disease duration of more than 1 year. In contrast to postmenopausal osteoporosis, in anorexia nervosa the loss of bone mineral density is due to both decreased bone formation along with increased bone resorption. Also, trabecular bone is more affected than cortical bone. Yet, the exact etiologic factors involved in their loss of bone density are not clear. Putative factors include the overlap between the normal accrual of peak bone mass and the age of onset of anorexia nervosa, along with the typical hypogonadal state, elevated cortisol levels, and growth hormone resistance found in anorexia nervosa, as described next.There are currently no treatments specifically approved for the osteoporosis of anorexia nervosa. Weight gain and resumption of menses are key and associated with significant increases in spine and hip bone mineral density.
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However, estrogen therapy does not seem to be of much value in anorexia nervosa. Many randomized controlled trials have found it to be ineffective, a fact that is underappreciated in the medical community.75
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Also, the withdrawal bleeding associated with its use can mislead patients into believing they are getting better. Transdermal estrogen patches have shown promising results in adolescents.78
Calcium and vitamin D by themselves do not restore bone density.79
Bisphosphonates have been shown to be effective in anorexia nervosa with an increase of 3% to 4% in spine bone mineral density after 12 months of treatment.80
Recently, teriparatide, a recombinant parathyroid hormone, has demonstrated favorable effects in this population.81
There are no data as yet with denosumab.82
Testosterone therapy may be effective in male patients with anorexia nervosa who also have low serum testosterone levels. Male patients with anorexia nervosa actually have more severe degrees of osteoporosis then their female counterparts.83
Endocrine
There are multiple endocrine abnormalities associated with anorexia nervosa. Most patients, both female and male, are hypogonadal because of reversion to a prepubertal state wherein pulsatile hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone secretion is reduced, causing low levels of follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone.
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Thus, amenorrhea is noted commonly in most, but not all female patients with anorexia nervosa. Leptin may have a causal role in the amenorrhea.85
Resumption of menses generally occurs at the weight that the periods ceased or at more than 90% of ideal body weight.86
However, some patients have prolonged amenorrhea even after weight restoration, and fertility may be permanently adversely affected.87
In male patients with anorexia nervosa, the low testosterone levels affect potency, libido, and muscle strength.Cortisol levels have been noted to be elevated because of both increased adrenal production and decreased renal clearance.
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Growth hormone levels also are noted to be elevated, but insulin growth factor-1 levels are low, indicating a state of growth hormone resistance.89
Most patients have thyroid function abnormalities that closely mimic sick euthyroid syndrome. These resolve with weight gain.90
Hypoglycemia occurs as anorexia nervosa becomes more severe, as a result of depleted hepatic glycogen stores. It is a poor prognostic sign that requires close monitoring.
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There is also evidence that type 1 diabetes may be related to the development of anorexia nervosa, although the specifics are inconclusive.92
However, what is clear is that some of these insulin-dependent diabetic patients realize that they can induce weight loss via reducing their use of insulin, thereby causing hyperglycemia and a resultant osmotic diuresis. This accelerates microvascular complications.93
Neurologic
Brain atrophy changes occur as a result of the malnutrition of anorexia nervosa. Neurocognitive functioning may be permanently impaired even though brain atrophy improves with weight restoration.
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Both gray and white matter are affected.Dermatologic
There are multiple skin changes that occur in anorexia nervosa. These include xerosis, lanugo hair growth on the spine and sides of the face, thinning of the hair, acrocyanosis, and perniosis. Increased acne and carotenoderma also have been described.
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None of these are signs of virilization, but rather are related to reduced subcutaneous tissue or to the body's attempt to maintain core temperature and prevent heat loss. They all resolve with weight gain.Medical Complications of Bulimia
Self-Induced Vomiting
Although the mortality rate associated with bulimia is less than in anorexia nervosa, it is also elevated because of the severe electrolyte and acid base alterations that can be associated with purging behaviors. Ninety percent of the purging behaviors found in bulimia are self-induced vomiting or the abuse of stimulant laxatives. With self-induced vomiting, the complications can be divided into the local adverse effects of vomiting and the electrolyte-acid base abnormalities that can ensue as this behavior becomes more extreme. Excessive vomiting can lead to persistent gastric acid reflux leading to dysphagia and dyspepsia. Treatment is cessation of this behavior and the administration of proton pump inhibitors. Whether patients with bulimia should be screened for Barrett's esophagus is not clear.
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There have been reports of esophageal malignancy in bulimia.97
But, even screening for Barrett's esophagus is the general population with reflux has recently been questioned because of lack of proof of efficicacy.98
Hematemesis is usually due to the limited Mallory-Weiss tears. Epistaxis and subconjunctival hemorrhages are self-limited, but recurrent epistaxis in a young female patient should raise the question of covert bulimia. Perimolysis refers to erosion of the dentin and enamel on the lingual service of the teeth due to repeated exposure to stomach acid.99
Likewise, oral mucositis and cheilitis are found in these patients from the recurrent vomiting. Recommended therapies include oral hygiene, such as gentle brushing and use of a fluoride mouthwash.100
Acid exposure also causes damage to the larynx with inflammatory changes to the vocal cords and a hoarse voice.101
Parotid gland enlargement, or sialadenosis, is a common feature of self-induced vomiting, although the precise mechanism remains elusive.
102
Tissue examination of these parotid glands reveals large acini with prominent zymogen granules without other pathology. Of note, sialadenosis develops 3 to 4 days after the cessation of chronic excessive self-induced vomiting and can be distressing to a patient with bulimia whose focus on body image is exaggerated. The swelling is bilateral, with minimal tenderness. There may be elevation of the salivary isoamylase enzyme serum level.103
Treatment ideally should be preemptive and composed of use of sialagogues such as tart candies, along with an anti-inflammatory medication and the frequent application of hot packs. Usually this will help prevent the elevation, or if started late, said treatment usually resolves the issue within 1 to 2 weeks. In rare cases, oral pilocarpine may be judiciously used to help resolve the sialadenosis.104
The most dangerous medical complications of self-induced vomiting relate to the acid-base and electrolyte changes that ensue as a result thereof. These aberrations are the same that occur with abuse of diuretics as the preferred mode of purging, but in general those encountered with self-induced vomiting are more profoundly abnormal. The most common electrolyte abnormalities are a metabolic alkalosis and hypokalemia. With vomiting, this is due to loss of both acid and potassium in the vomitus, as well as from the volume-depleted state causing increased aldosterone secretion to sustain the blood pressure. This course of compensatory events is referred to as pseudo-Barrett's syndrome.
105
It predisposes these patients to a distressing propensity toward edema formation with the cessation of purging behaviors as well as if intravenous saline repletion is required and infused too quickly.106
These patients must be treated differently than, for example, a patient with acute gastroenteritis in need of intravenous saline, in whom it can be safely infused rather quickly.107
Although the protective elevated aldosterone levels will self-normalize after a few weeks of no ongoing purging behaviors, it is often purposeful to initiate spironolactone in a starting dose of 25 to 50 mg daily to both prevent and treat edema formation. The finding of hypokalemia, in an otherwise healthy young adult, is highly specific for the diagnosis of covert bulimia.108
The potentially severe degrees of hypokalemia and metabolic-alkalosis and resulting cardiac arrhythmias that can develop in those who excessively purge are the likely reasons for the elevated mortality rate associated with bulimia nervosa.8
Hypokalemia recently was reported to be especially dangerous in female persons, which is the gender mostly identified to have bulimia.109
Most patients with bulimia nervosa use their fingers to provoke vomiting. However, some abuse syrup of ipecac to accomplish this. This is even more dangerous because, emetine, the alkaloid in ipecac that induces vomiting, is a direct cardiac toxin.
110
This toxicity is cumulative. Each bottle of ipecac contains 30 mg of emetine and with a dose of just 1250 mg, there can be the development of an irreversible cardiomyopathy and severe congestive health failure.111
Laxative Abuse
Excessive laxative abuse is the other main mode of purging.
112
Hypokalemia is again a potential risk of this behavior. However, in contrast to diuretics and self-induced vomiting, laxative abuse is initially associated with a hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis that eventually reverts to a state of metabolic alkalosis after a chronic volume-depleted state evolves. In addition to the electrolyte abnormalities, laxative abuse causes expected local gastrointestinal adverse effects, including rectal prolapse, diarrhea, hemorrhoids, and hematochezia.113
, 114
There has long been a debate whether stimulant initiative can cause colorectal cancer.115
One final and major complication of laxative abuse is the cathartic colon syndrome.
116
For many years, it has been known that stimulant laxatives, whose mechanism of action is based on stimulation of peristalsis via a direct effect on Auerbach's plexus in the colon, can cause permanent harm to these nerve plexi.117
As a result of chronic use, the colon is converted into an inert tube incapable of the propagation of fecal material and severe constipation ensues,118
which may necessitate a colectomy. The exact amount of time or quantity of abuse needed to cause the cathartic colon syndrome is unknown. Therefore, it is important to exhort these patients to cease abuse of laxatives that contain senna, cascara, phenolphthalein, or bisacodyl. The aforementioned edema formation that can develop also can be treated with spironolactone, and patient concerns about resultant constipation can be allayed with substitution of a judicious amount of an osmotic laxative.119
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Much less commonly, patients with bulimia purge via the use of enema type products.121
The main dangers from them are due to the electrolyte abnormalities previously mentioned but also the potential for fatal hyperphosphatemia from the sodium-phosphate active ingredients.122
Conclusions
Both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa inherently have a litany of medical complications associated with them, although most of them are treatable after effective medical interventions and psychotherapy. To halt the disease process, a notable few are associated with permanent harm. Therefore, given the relatively young age of onset of these illnesses, there is an impelling need for informed medical treatment to help achieve a successful treatment outcome.
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Published online: July 10, 2015
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Funding: None.
Conflict of Interest: None.
Authorship: All authors had access to the data and played a role in writing this manuscript.
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© 2016 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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- Use of Denosumab in a Patient with Chronic Anorexia Nervosa and OsteoporosisThe American Journal of MedicineVol. 129Issue 2
- PreviewWe read with interest the review of medical complication of patients with anorexia nervosa and bulimia by Westmoreland at al in The American Journal of Medicine.1 The experiences listed are similar to those encountered in our inpatient unit, which combines medical and psychiatric management in a single site.
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