Eating disorders are a major challenge for health professionals, with many patients receiving ineffective care due to underdiagnosis or poor compliance with treatment. The incidence of eating disorders is increasing worldwide, producing an increasing burden on healthcare systems, and they most often affect young patients, with significant long-term complications. The effects of long-term malnutrition manifest in almost every organ system, and many can be detected radiologically, even without overt clinical findings. Musculoskeletal complications including osteoporosis result in a high incidence of insufficiency fractures, with long-term implications for bone health and growth, while respiratory complications are often recognized late due to disordered physiologic responses to infection. Gastrointestinal complications are numerous and in extreme cases may result in fatal outcomes after acute gastric dilatation and rupture subsequent to binge eating. In patients with severely disordered eating, in particular anorexia nervosa, marked derangement of electrolyte levels may result in refeeding syndrome, which requires emergent management. Recognition of such complications is critical to effective patient care and requires radiologists to be aware of the spectrum of imaging abnormalities that may be seen. Since many patients are reluctant to disclose their underlying condition, radiologists also play a critical role in identifying previously undiagnosed eating disorders.
©RSNA, 2013.