Tracking the timing of relapse
It is well known that relapse is common in those who have been treated for AN, but a new study helps to clarify the time course for relapse.
Timothy Walsh, MD, and colleagues have published a follow-up analysis of data from a two-site study of fluoxetine treatment to prevent relapse in those with AN (Am J Psychiatry. 2021; AJP-in-Advance). The original landmark study from 2006 (JAMA. 2006; 295) showed that fluoxetine did not prevent relapse. The new analysis examines the time to relapse in detail, and finds that risk of relapse rises promptly after the end of acute (in this case, inpatient) treatment and peaks after about 60 days, then gradually falls.
