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Psychiatric comorbidity in patients with eating disorders1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

D. L. Braun*
Affiliation:
New York Hospital/Cornell University Medical Center, Westchester Division, NY, USA
S. R. Sunday
Affiliation:
New York Hospital/Cornell University Medical Center, Westchester Division, NY, USA
K. A. Halmi
Affiliation:
New York Hospital/Cornell University Medical Center, Westchester Division, NY, USA
*
2Address for correspondence: Dr Devra L. Braun, Department of Psychiatry. New York Hospital/Cornell University Medical Center, 21 Bloomingdale Road, White Plains, NY 10605USA

Synopsis

The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID and SCID II) was administered to 105 eating disorder in-patients in order to examine rates of comorbid psychiatric disorders and the chronological sequence in which these disorders developed. Eighty-six patients, 81·9% of the sample, had Axis I diagnoses in addition to their eating disorder. Depression, anxiety and substance dependence were the most common comorbid diagnoses. Anorexic restrictors were significantly more likely than bulimics (all subtypes) to develop their eating disorder before other Axis I comorbid conditions.

Personality disorders were common among the subjects; 69% met criteria for at least one personality disorder diagnosis. Of the 72 patients with personality disorders, 93% also had Axis I comorbidity. Patients with at least one personality disorder were significantly more likely to have an affective disorder or substance dependence than those with no personality disorder.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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Footnotes

1

Part of this paper was presented by Dr Braun at the International Conference on Eating Disorders, in New York, NY, USA on 24–26 April 1992.

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