Long term prognosis in anorexia nervosa

: Follow-up studies using the same prognostic criteria have shown that about 48% of the patients had recovered at follow-up, while 28% revealed further difficulties with eating, weight and figure, and 24% remained anorectic. Our own study on 103 patients who underwent inpatient treatment, revealed unexpectedly good results: according to the criteria of Morgan and Russell, 72% (n = 58) showed a good prognosis, 11% (n = 9) a fair, and 17% (n = 14) an unfavourable prognosis. 3 patients had died during the follow-up interval. It was possible to predict the long-term outcome from weight recovery during inpatient treatment, more successfully in patients with favourable than unfavourable outcome. The best predictors were: time until weight stabilization, the ratio ideal weight/stabilized weight, and age at onset of the eating disorder.