Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T11:29:09.176Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Is Anorexia Nervosa an Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Neil L. Holden
Neil L. Holden*
Affiliation:
Nottingham University Medical School, Mapperley Hospital, Porchester Road, Nottingham NG3 6AA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Although anorexia nervosa may vary widely in its severity and outcome, it is usually regarded as an illness in its own right, as patients do not display major changes in the form of the illness over time (Russell, 1970). It readily lends itself to being accorded clear-cut diagnostic criteria (Russell, 1977) and this is reflected in ICD–10 (World Health Organization, 1987). However, the nosological independence of anorexia nervosa has undergone vigorous assault since its classic description by William Gull (1874). For example, the psychological nature of anorexia nervosa was obscured for 30 years by Simmond's (1914) description of anterior pituitary lesions and cachexia, and Kay & Leigh's (1954) influential study of anorexia nervosa concluded with their doubts about its status as a ‘psychiatric entity’.

Type
Annotation
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 157 , Issue 1 , July 1990 , pp. 1 - 5
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ben-Tovim, D. I., Marilov, V. & Crisp, A. H. (1979) Personality and mental state (PSE) within anorexia nervosa. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 23, 321–325.Google Scholar
Beaumont, P. J. V., George, G. C. W. & Smart, D. E. (1976) ‘Dieters’ and ‘vomiters and purgers’ in anorexia nervosa. Psychological Medicine, 6, 617–622.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cantwell, D. P., Sturzenberger, S., Burroughs, J., et al (1977) Anorexia nervosa: an affective disorder? Archives of General Psychiatry, 34, 1087–1093.Google Scholar
Cooper, J. E. (1975) Obsessional disorders. Medicine (2nd series), 11, 476–478.Google Scholar
Crisp, A. H. & Toms, D. A. (1972) Primary anorexia nervosa or weight phobia in the male: a report on 13 cases. British Medical Journal, i, 334–338.Google Scholar
Crisp, A. H., Palmer, R. L. & Kalney, R. S. (1976) How common is anorexia nervosa? A prevalence study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 128, 549–554.Google Scholar
Crisp, A. H., Hsu, L. K. G., Harding, B., et al (1980) Clinical features of anorexia nervosa. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 24, 179–191.Google Scholar
Dally, P. (1969) Anorexia nervosa. Philadelphia: Grune & Stratton.Google Scholar
Du Bois, F. S. (1949) Compulsion neurosis with cachexia. American Journal of Psychiatry, 106, 107–115.Google Scholar
Eckert, E. D., Goldberg, S. C., Halmi, K. A., et al (1982) Depression in anorexia nervosa. Psychological Medicine, 12, 115–122.Google Scholar
Garfinkel, P. E. & Garner, D. M. (1982) Anorexia Nervosa: A Multidimensional Perspective. New York: Brunner Mazel.Google Scholar
Gormally, J. (1984) The obese binge eater: diagnosis, etiology and clinical issues. In The Binge-Purge Syndrome (eds C. Hawkins, W. Fremouw & P. Clement). New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Gull, W. (1874) Anorexia nervosa (apepsia hysterica, anorexia hysterica). Clinical and Social Transactions, London, 7, 22.Google Scholar
Hamilton, M. (1985) Fish's Clinical Psychopathology (2nd edn). Bristol: Wright.Google Scholar
Herzog, D. B. (1984) Are anorexic and bulimic patients depressed? American Journal of Psychiatry, 141, 1594–1597.Google ScholarPubMed
Holland, A. J., Hall, A., Murray, R. M., et al (1984) Anorexia nervosa: a study of 34 twin pairs and one set of triplets. British Journal of Psychiatry, 145, 414–419.Google Scholar
Holland, A. J., Sicotte, N. & Treasure, J. (1988) Anorexia nervosa: evidence for a genetic basis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 32, 561–571.Google Scholar
Hudson, J. I., Pope, H. G., Jonas, J. M., et al (1983) Family history study of anorexia nervosa and bulimia. British Journal of Psychiatry, 142, 133–138.Google Scholar
Kay, D. W. K. & Leigh, D. (1954) The natural history treatment and prognosis of anorexia nervosa, based on a study of 38 patients. Journal of Mental Science, 100, 411–431.Google Scholar
Kendell, R. E., Hall, D. J., Hailey, A., et al (1973) The epidemiology of anorexia nervosa. Psychological Medicine, 3, 200–203.Google Scholar
Keys, A., Brozek, J., Henschel, A., et al (1950) The Biology of Human Starvation, Vol. 1. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, A. (1963) Primary and secondary anorexia nervosa syndromes. British Journal of Psychiatry, 109, 470–479.Google Scholar
Lewis, A. (1935) Problems of obsessional illness. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine, 29, 13–24.Google Scholar
Morgan, H. G. & Russell, G. F. M. (1975) Value of family background and clinical features as predictors of long-term outcome in anorexia nervosa: four-year follow-up study of 41 patients. Psychological Medicine, 5, 355–371.Google Scholar
Murray, R. M. & Reveley, A. (1981) The genetic contribution to the neuroses. British Journal of Hospital medicine, 25, 185–190.Google Scholar
Murray, R. M., Clifford, C., Fulker, D. W., et al (1983) Is there a genetic contribution to obsessional traits and symptoms? In Genetic Issues. The Psychological Epidemiology Monograph Series (ed. M. Tsuang). New York: Neil Watson/Academic Press.Google Scholar
Norris, D. L. (1979) Clinical diagnostic criteria for primary anorexia nervosa. South African Medical Journal, 56, 987–993.Google Scholar
Palmer, H. D. & Jones, M. S. (1939) Anorexia nervosa as a manifestation of compulsive neurosis. Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry, 41, 856–860.Google Scholar
Patton, G. C. (1988) The spectrum of eating disorders in adolescence. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 32, 579–584.Google Scholar
Pollitt, H. J. (1957) Natural history of obsessional states: a study of 150 cases. British Medical Journal, i, 194–198.Google Scholar
Rachman, S., Hodgson, R. & Marks, I. M. (1971) Treatment of chronic obsessive-compulsive neurosis. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 9, 237–247.Google Scholar
Robson, P. J. (1988) Self-esteem – a psychiatric view. British Journal of Psychiatry, 153, 6–15.Google Scholar
Rothenberg, A. (1986) Eating disorders as a modern obsessive–compulsive syndrome. Psychiatry, 49, 45–53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rothenberg, A. (1988) Differential diagnosis of anorexia nervosa and depressive illness: a review of 11 studies. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 29, 427–432.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Russell, G. F. M. (1970) Anorexia nervosa: its identity as an illness and its treatment. In Modern Trends in Psychological Medicine, Vol. 2 (ed. J. Harding Price), pp. 131–164. London: Butterworths.Google Scholar
Russell, G. F. M. (1977) The present status of anorexia nervosa. Psychological Medicine, 7, 363–367.Google Scholar
Schwab, J. J. (1979) Social Order and Mental Health: The Florida Health Study. New York: Brunner-Macel.Google Scholar
Simmonds, M. (1914) Ueber embolische prozesse in der hypophysis. Archives of Pathology and Anatomy, 217, 226–239.Google Scholar
Slater, E. (1943) The neurotic constitution. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 6, 1–6.Google Scholar
Smart, D. E., Beaumont, P. J. V. & George, G. C. W. (1976) Some personality characteristics of patients with anorexia nervosa. British Journal of Psychiatry, 128, 57–60.Google Scholar
Stern, R. S. & Cobb, J. P. (1978) Phenomenology of obsessive-compulsive neurosis. British Journal of Psychiatry, 132, 233–239.Google Scholar
Stonehill, E. & Crisp, A. H. (1977) Psychoneurotic characteristics of patients with anorexia nervosa before and after treatment and at follow-up 4–7 years later. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 21, 187–193.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Strober, M. (1980) Personality and symptomatological features in young, nonchronic anorexia nervosa patients. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 24, 353–359.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Swift, W. J., Andrews, D. & Barklage, N. E. (1986) The relationship between affective disorder and eating disorders: a review of the literature. American Journal of Psychiatry, 143, 290–299.Google Scholar
Wardle, J. (1987) Compulsive eating and dietary restraint. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 26, 47–55.Google Scholar
Winokur, A., March, V. & Mendels, J. (1980) Primary affective disorder in relatives of patients with anorexia nervosa. American Journal of Psychiatry, 137, 695–698.Google Scholar
Woodruff, R. & Pitts, F. N. (1964) Monozygotic twins with obsessional illness. American Journal of Psychiatry, 120, 1075–1080.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (1987) ICD-10. 1986 Draft of Chapter V. Mental, Behavioural and Developmental Disorders. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.