Atypical anorexia nervosa: Implications of clinical features and BMI cutoffs

Youl-Ri Kim; Zhen An; Janet Treasure

doi:10.1002/eat.23911

Atypical anorexia nervosa: Implications of clinical features and BMI cutoffs

Int J Eat Disord. 2023 Apr;56(4):828-830. doi: 10.1002/eat.23911. Epub 2023 Feb 5.

Authors

Youl-Ri Kim^{1

2}, Zhen An², Janet Treasure³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Seoul Paik Hospital, Inje University, Seoul, South Korea.
² Institute of Eating Disorders and Mental Health, Inje University, Seoul, South Korea.
³ Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.

PMID: 36740848
DOI: 10.1002/eat.23911

Abstract

Atypical anorexia nervosa (atypical AN) appears to be a heterogeneous disorder under the current diagnostic system. Though the body mass index (BMI) cutoff point of 18.5 kg/m² is a criterion that distinguishes atypical AN from AN, the cutoff may not be universally applicable as the norms for BMI vary and can be affected by several factors, including cross-country differences and social determinants. It is unfortunate that we do not yet have reliable or widely available criteria other than BMI for the diagnosis of atypical AN. Additional relevant markers of atypical AN are needed in future diagnostic systems.

Keywords: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5); atypical anorexia nervosa; body mass index; clinical features; diagnosis.

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MeSH terms

Anorexia Nervosa* / diagnosis
Body Mass Index
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Humans