PREDICTION OF LOW BODY-WEIGHT AT LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP IN ACUTE ANOREXIA-NERVOSA BY LOW BODY-WEIGHT AT REFERRAL

Objective: The authors investigated the hypothesis that in acute anore xia nervosa a low body weight predicts a poor weight prognosis for the future. Method: The body mass indexes at referral of 272 female patie nts were examined in relation to the body mass indexes of these patien ts after a mean follow-up of 9.5 years. Results: The overall correlati on between body mass indexes at referral and at follow-up was r=0.33. Despite this low correlation, the 100 patients with body mass indexes less than 13 kg/m(2) at referral had low weights at long-term follow-u p. Eleven of the 12 deceased patients were among these 100 patients, a s were 24 of the 46 surviving patients whose body mass indexes were 17 .5 kg/m(2) or less at follow-up. Conclusions: For patients with anorex ia nervosa, a body mass index less than 13 kg/m(2) at referral indicat es a substantial risk for chronic anorexia nervosa and death related t o emaciation.