Abstract
Purpose: To study cardiac structural and functional abnormalities some
20 years after initial treatment in a sample of adolescent-onset
anorexia nervosa (A-AN) and to compare them with matched healthy
controls (HC). Methods: A sample of 29 women diagnosed and treated for
AN during adolescence (A-AN) were assessed more than 20 years later. A
complete cardiac evaluation was carried out including an
electrocardiogram (ECG) and a standard 2D echocardiography. Thirty
matched HC were also assessed. Results: In the A-AN group, four subjects
had a body mass index lower than 18.5 and met full DSM 5 criteria for AN
at follow-up (Low-Weight group). They were compared with the rest of the
sample (n=25) who had normalized their weight (Normal-Weight group),
though some still showed some eating disorder symptoms. Both groups were
compared with the HC group. Subjects in the Low-Weight group presented
statistically significant decreases in the left ventricular
end-diastolic and left atrium dimensions and left ventricular mass in
comparison with the Normal-Weight group and the HC. No other differences
in cardiac parameters were found between groups. Conclusions
Echocardiographic and ECG parameters of adults who had presented A-AN
twenty years earlier and currently maintained normal weight were similar
to those of HC who had never been treated or diagnosed with AN. Adult
subjects with A-AN who still had low weight in the long term present
certain cardiac abnormalities similar to those seen in short-lasting
disease. More studies are needed to confirm these results in a larger
sample.