TY - JOUR

T1 - A naturalistic study of plasma lipid alterations in female patients with anorexia nervosa before and after weight restoration treatment

AU - Hussain, Alia Arif

AU - Carlsson, Jessica

AU - Mortensen, Erik Lykke

AU - Hemmingsen, Simone Daugaard

AU - Bulik, Cynthia M.

AU - Støving, René Klinkby

AU - Sjögren, Jan Magnus

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024.

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - Background: Plasma lipid concentrations in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) seem to be altered. Methods: We conducted a naturalistic study with 75 adult female patients with AN and 26 healthy female controls (HC). We measured plasma lipid profile, sex hormones and used self-report questionnaires at admission and discharge. Results: Total cholesterol (median (IQR): 4.9 (1.2)) and triglycerides (TG) (1.2 (0.8)) were elevated in AN at admission (BMI 15.3 (3.4)) compared with HC (4.3 (0.7), p = 0.003 and 0.9 (0.3), p = 0.006) and remained elevated at discharge (BMI 18.9 (2.9)) after weight restoration treatment. Estradiol (0.05 (0.1)) and testosterone (0.5 (0.7)) were lower in AN compared with HC (0.3 (0.3), p = < 0.001 and 0.8 (0.5), p = 0.03) and remained low at discharge. There was no change in eating disorder symptoms. Depression symptoms decreased (33 (17) to 30.5 (19), (p = 0.007)). Regression analyses showed that illness duration was a predictor of TG, age was a predictor of total cholesterol and LDL, while educational attainment predicted LDL and TG. Conclusion: Lipid concentrations remained elevated following weight restoration treatment, suggesting an underlying, premorbid dysregulation in the lipid metabolism in AN that persists following weight restoration. Elevated lipid concentrations may be present prior to illness onset in AN. Level of evidence: III: Evidence obtained from well-designed cohort or case–control analytic studies.

AB - Background: Plasma lipid concentrations in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) seem to be altered. Methods: We conducted a naturalistic study with 75 adult female patients with AN and 26 healthy female controls (HC). We measured plasma lipid profile, sex hormones and used self-report questionnaires at admission and discharge. Results: Total cholesterol (median (IQR): 4.9 (1.2)) and triglycerides (TG) (1.2 (0.8)) were elevated in AN at admission (BMI 15.3 (3.4)) compared with HC (4.3 (0.7), p = 0.003 and 0.9 (0.3), p = 0.006) and remained elevated at discharge (BMI 18.9 (2.9)) after weight restoration treatment. Estradiol (0.05 (0.1)) and testosterone (0.5 (0.7)) were lower in AN compared with HC (0.3 (0.3), p = < 0.001 and 0.8 (0.5), p = 0.03) and remained low at discharge. There was no change in eating disorder symptoms. Depression symptoms decreased (33 (17) to 30.5 (19), (p = 0.007)). Regression analyses showed that illness duration was a predictor of TG, age was a predictor of total cholesterol and LDL, while educational attainment predicted LDL and TG. Conclusion: Lipid concentrations remained elevated following weight restoration treatment, suggesting an underlying, premorbid dysregulation in the lipid metabolism in AN that persists following weight restoration. Elevated lipid concentrations may be present prior to illness onset in AN. Level of evidence: III: Evidence obtained from well-designed cohort or case–control analytic studies.

KW - Anorexia nervosa

KW - Cholesterol

KW - Eating disorders

KW - Estradiol

KW - Lipids

KW - Sex hormones

KW - Testosterone

U2 - 10.1186/s40337-024-01055-3

DO - 10.1186/s40337-024-01055-3

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 38956654

AN - SCOPUS:85197256717

VL - 12

JO - Journal of Eating Disorders

JF - Journal of Eating Disorders

SN - 2050-2974

IS - 1

M1 - 92

ER -