Eating disorders in older women: does late onset anorexia nervosa exist?

July 23, 2010 Posted in: Eating Disorders, Women's Mental Health Tags: Anorexia Nervosa 0 Comments

An article published this month in the International Journal of Eating Disorders drew my attention. In my experience, eating disorders in older age are clinically and diagnostically challenging. Postmenopausal onset of anorexia nervosa is very rare, and the trajectory of the illness is usually uncertain.

The study, conducted by Samantha Scholtz, identifies and characterises a sample of women above the age of 50. Scholtz and colleagues conducted a review of presentations to a national eating disorder service. Although the sample size is a bit small, this study provides a unique insight into older age eating disorders.

There were no cases where the eating disorder had its onset late in life, and all cases were of lengthy duration. The authors noted lifelong disability and enduring deficiencies in quality of life, despite weight restoration in some cases. This highlights the devastating longer term impact of the illness. This study suggest that late onset anorexia nervosa basically does not exist.

I found this study interesting because information on late onset eating disorders in women (particularly anorexia nervosa) is very scarce. It also highlights the importance of thinking beyond traditional stereotypes of ‘at risk’ groups.

Reference: Eating disorders in older women: does late onset anorexia nervosa exist? Scholtz S, Hill LS, Lacey H. Int J Eat Disord. 2010 Jul;43(5):393-7.