Eating Disorders Blog

According to data from the Touch Research Institutes (TRI) at the University of Miami, School of Medicine, bulimic patients who received massage therapy experienced immediate decreases in anxiety and depression, according to certain psychological and behavioral measures.

According to the TRI's report, "Bulimic adolescent girls received massage therapy 2 times a week for 5 weeks. Effects included an improved body image, decreased depression and anxiety symptoms, decreased cortisol levels and increased dopamine and serotonin levels."

A similar study, also conducted by TRI, showed that anorexic patients also experienced an alleviation of symptoms as a result of massage therapy. According to study authors, "Massage therapy reduced anxiety, depressed mood, salivary cortisol (stress hormone) levels and body dissatisfaction and increased dopamine levels in women with anorexia."

(Sources: www6.miami.edu, www.massagemag.com)

Labels: bulimia, anorexia, anxiety disorders, massage therapy

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According to a new study, cortisol levels are higher in women with anorexia and hypothalamic amenorrhea (a condition in which the brain fails to produce the hormone necessary to trigger menstruation). These increased levels of cortisol are strongly associated with depression, anxiety and bone loss.

The study, conducted by researchers at Harvard Medical School in Boston, was published online on Oct. 16, 2009, in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

The Harvard researchers, led by Elizabeth A. Lawson, M.D., examined whether cortisol levels could be linked to bone loss and mood disturbance in 31 amenorrheic women (women who do not have menstrual periods). Of the study participants, 18 women were amenorrheic due to being anorexic and 13 women were normal-weight with hypothalamic amenorrhea.

The research team found that both groups had lower bone mineral density than healthy women. The two groups also exhibited higher than average cortisol levels, and more incidences of depression and anxiety. In general, the anorexic women had the lowest bone density and the highest cortisol, depression and anxiety levels.

Lawson commented on the study results: "Hypercortisolemia is a potential mediator of bone loss and mood disturbance in these disorders. It is unclear whether hypercortisolemia is secondary or underlies the psychiatric pathology in these disorders."

(Source: www.modernmedicine.com)

Labels: anorexia, anxiety disorders, depression

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Individuals with anxiety disorders, including obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), may be at increased risk for eating disorders. According to a new study presented this week at the Royal College of Psychiatrists' 2009 Annual Meeting in England, approximately one in five people with OCD may also suffer from disordered eating. In addition, one in three individuals suffering from other kinds of anxiety disorders may have disordered eating.

Dr Lynne Drummond, a consultant psychiatrist at South West London and St George's NHS Mental Health Trust, conducted the study by collecting data from a sample of patients with severe OCD who were referred to a specialist unit for treatment. Dr. Drummond commented on the findings, saying: "Although there have been several studies examining the prevalence of OCD and obsessive symptoms in patients with eating disorders, there is a dearth of studies where patients with OCD and other anxiety disorders are examined for eating disorders. This study suggests that clinicians should be made aware of the high prevalence of disordered eating in patients with all anxiety disorders as well as OCD."

(Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com)

Labels: eating disorder, anxiety disorders

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A new study that followed girls with anorexia from age 14 to 30 years old found that 67% experienced major depression, and 73% suffered from anxiety disorders.

• A team of researchers from Goteborg Sweden recruited 51 girls with anorexia when they were 14 years old.
• The girls were not as severely ill as those who have to be hospitalized.
• All the girls were treated within their communities and none died in the course of the study.

The Swedish study was the first to consider autism spectrum and anorexia, and the main finding was that girls with both autism and anorexia have poorer outcomes. Poorer outcomes were also linked to having a younger age of onset of anorexia, a lower weight (BMI) and/or obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

By age 30, 12% still had eating disorders, 39% met criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder, and 25% were unemployed due to a psychiatric disorder.

The study appears in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

Labels: girls, anxiety disorders, depression

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