The significance of routine laboratory analyses in the assessment of teenage girls with eating disorders and weight loss

Abstract

Routine laboratory investigations that had been performed at disease assessment on 327 teenage girls with eating disorders and weight loss were analyzed. The laboratory investigations included erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), blood haemoglobin concentration (Hb), white blood cell count (WBC), platelet count, serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, serum aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT) activity, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALAT) activity, serum albumin concentration, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and serum concentrations of sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium (corrected for albumin), inorganic phosphate, creatinine and urea. The results were for ESR, Hb, WBC, platelet count, ALP, ASAT, ALAT, inorganic phosphate, creatinine, urea and HBA1C related to weight and (ongoing) weight loss. The variations of the biochemical measurements were, however, largely within reference ranges, weight and weight changes predicted the biochemical measurements only to a small degree and in individual patients the results of the analyses often suggested normality. These analyses may therefore not be suited to assess the degree of weight loss and starvation in eating disorders. They may, however, be useful for the exclusion of other diseases which could show weight loss and biochemical abnormalities.