Predictors of eating disorders outcomes in Polish teenage patients

Aim of the study. The aim of this study was to assess factors associated with the outcome of eating disorders in Polish teenage patients. Material and methods. Analyses covered the data of 47 patients diagnosed with any of the eating disorders according to DSM IV consulted for the first time in the outpatients clinic of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit between 2002/2004 in Krakow (DGN1), Poland and then followed up between 2009/2011 (DGN2). The influence of the number of variables collected at DGN1 on outcomes was analysed. Results. The outcomes of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are influenced by some aspects of clinical picture, patients’ objective family situation, their self-image and the perception they have of their family relations. The co-occurrence of depressive symptoms and younger age of parents proved to be the most clinically important negative outcome predictors in the whole group of eating disorders. Discussion. The small size of group in the follow-up study is the most important limitating factor. Conclusion. Outcomes in eating disorders are affected by several psycho-bio-social factors common to all patients and specific for the diagnosis type they initially present.