387: Week 11 - Child & Adolescent Mental Health

Question 1

What is Anorexia Nervosa

Answer 1

eating disorder characterized by restrictive eating

Question 2

What are the side effects of AN?

Answer 2

• emaciation (extreme weight loss and thinness due to loss of subcutaneous fat)
• amenorrhea (termination of menstrual period)
• altered body image
• extensive fear of becoming obese

Question 3

What % of those with AN are women?

Answer 3

90%

Question 4

What is the typical age of onset for AN?

Answer 4

pre-adolescence -> early adulthood

-> peaks occur in early adolescence (12-13) and at ~17

Question 5

What are the SS of AN?

Answer 5

-deliberate weight loss
-dieting or vomitting/purging to control weight
PHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES:
-vomitus erodes enamel -> damage of the enamel of teeth caused by excessive vomiting
-hypotension
-bradycardia
-hypothermia
-ventricular dilation
-dry skin & lanugo
-constipation (due to gastric peristalsis)
-dehydration
-osteopenia/osteoperosis (due to amenorrhea)

Question 6

What are the various etiologies of AN?

Answer 6

• causes are multi-factorial
• Socio-cultural -> preoccupation with thinness and ‘ideal’ body types
• Familial -> families which tightly control children, are ‘enmeshed’, or are avoidant of conflict
• Cognitive/Behavioral -> weight loss is positively reinforced (appraised) by individuals in the social environment
• Psychodynamic -> suggestion that sexual abuse in childhood leads to AN