A comparison of subgroups of inpatients with anorexia nervosa

Abstract

Objective Classification of subgroups of people with anorexia nervosa has been in flux. It has not been clear whether anorexics who only purge should be grouped with pure restricters or with people who both binge and purge. Methods: We compared 27 restricting-type anorexics (RAN), 26 bulimic anorexics (BAN), and 34 restricting anorexics with purging behaviors (RAN-P). All subjects were underweight and recently admitted to a hospital. We excluded subjects who had not had a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa for at least 1 year duration. Results: The three groups of subjects had similar scores for Depression and Anxiety on the Beck Depression Inventory, the Spielberger State and Trait Anxiety Inventory, and on the EDI subscales aside from higher scores for BAN subjects on the Bulimia subscale. Discussion: These three subgroups of anorexia nervosa have similar degrees of dysphoric moods and core eating disorder symptoms when underweight and malnourished. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 22:309–314, 1997.