Małgorzata Janas-Kozik, Ewa Stachowiak

Obsessive-compulsive symptoms, depressiveness and anxiety in the course of anorexia nervosa. Own suggestions regarding their understanding in the light of adolescence.             11-30

Summary

Aims and the studied group. The aim of the present paper is to assess the correlations between the studied group of anorexia nervosa (AN) patients and the control group for the presence and intensification of obsessive-compulsive symptoms, depressive symptoms and anxiety during a 6-month observation. 50 AN patients aged 12.5-24 and 20 healthy control group girls aged 18-19 participated in the study. The AN diagnosis was based on ICD-10 and DSM-IV criteria.

Results. The assessment of intensification of obsessive-compulsive symptoms did not reveal a statistically significant difference between the studied groups. There was a statistically significant correlation of depressive symptoms in AN patients upon admission to the Ward as well as after 6 months of treatment. There was also a statistically significant intensification of anxiety as a state in AN patients upon admission to the Ward and after 2 months of treatment. Finally, there was a statistically significant intensification in anxiety as a trait in AN patients but only upon admission to the Ward.

Conclusions. 1. Extra caution is recommended when making a double diagnosis, i.e. AN and obsessive-compulsive disorder, AN and depression or AN and anxiety disorder keeping in mind the diagnostic criteria. 2. Depressive, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive symptoms are not specific for all diagnosed AN patients. The fact that similar depressive, obsessive-compulsive and anxiety symptoms were present in both AN patients and in the control group may suggest the presence of adolescence-specific psychic manifestations, rather than AN-specific co-occurring symptoms.

Adolescence / depression / depressiveness / anxiety / anorexia nervosa