Mortality Among EDNOS Patients Is Higher Than Suspected

The high mortality rates among persons with anorexia nervosa (AN) are well known. In contrast, bulimia nervosa (BN) and other types of eating disorders are perceived as less serious and the mortality rates are less well known. Dr. Scott Crow and colleagues at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, used computer record linkage to the National Death Index to conduct a longitudinal study of mortality among patients with eating disorders over 8 to 25 years (Am J Psychiatry 2009; 166:1342). The study included 1,885 patients who presented for treatment at a specialized eating disorders treatment center at an academic university medical center. The group included 177 patients with AN, 906 with BN, and 802 with eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS).

Individuals with EDNOS, of the thought of as less serious eating disorders, had elevated death rates similar to those found among individuals with AN. Crude mortality rates were 4.0% for those with AN, 3.9% for those BN, but 5.2% for those with EDNOS. The study also showed an increased risk of suicide that reached across all types of eating disorders, including EDNOS. Causes of death involving substance use were similar in patients with EDNOS and among those with AN.