SHOULD AMENORRHEA BE NECESSARY FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF ANOREXIA-NERVOSA - EVIDENCE FROM A CANADIAN COMMUNITY SAMPLE

Background. This study compares the characteristics of women with anor exia nervosa with those of women who have all the diagnostic features of that disorder except amenorrhoea. Method. The study uses data from a large community epidemiological survey of the mental health status o f household residents in Ontario, Canada. A multi-stage stratified sam pling design generated a sample of 4285 females aged 15-64. DSM-III-R diagnoses were made using the Composite International Diagnostic Inter view. Results. Eighty-four out of 4285 female respondents met full or partial-syndrome criteria for anorexia nervosa. Comparison of these tw o groups revealed few statistically significant differences in terms o f demographics, psychiatric comorbidity, family history or early exper iences. Conclusions. Amenorrhoea did not discriminate between women wi th anorexia nervosa and women with all the features except amenorrhoea across a number of relevant variables. The authors question the utili ty of amenorrhoea as a diagnostic criterion.