Psychotropic medications in adult and adolescent eating disorders: clinical practice versus evidence-based recommendations

The RTI International-University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Evidence-based Practice Center (RTI-UNC EPC) systematically reviewed evidence on efficacy of treatment for anorexia nervosa (AN), harms associated with treatments, factors associated with treatment efficacy, and differential outcome by sociodemographic characteristics. We searched six major databases for studies on the treatment of AN from 1980 to September 2005, in all languages against a priori inclusion/exclusion criteria focusing on eating, psychiatric or psychological, or biomarker outcomes. Thirty-two treatment studies involved only medications, only behavioral interventions, and medication plus behavioral interventions for adults or adolescents. The literature on medication treatments and behavioral treatments for adults with AN is sparse and inconclusive. Cognitive behavioral therapy may reduce relapse risk for adults with AN after weight restoration, although its efficacy in the underweight state remains unknown. Variants of family therapy are efficacious in adolescents, but not in adults. Evidence for AN treatment is weak; evidence for treatment-related harms and factors associated with efficacy of treatment are weak; and evidence for differential outcome by sociodemographic factors is nonexistent. Attention to sample size and statistical power, standardization of outcome measures, retention of patients in clinical trials, and developmental differences in treatment appropriateness and outcome is required.

Eating disorders are complex, multifactorially determined phenomena. When individuals with eating disorders present for treatment with comorbid conditions, case conceptualization is further complicated and, as a result, it may be difficult to determine optimal psychological or pharmacological treatment. This article reviews the evidence of the association between eating disorders (anorexia nervosa [AN] and bulimia nervosa [BN]) and Axis I depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), substance abuse, and Axis II personality disorders, for the purposes of increasing awareness about the different options for case conceptualization. Although other diagnoses comorbid with eating disorders are of interest to clinicians (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD] and social phobia), their comprehensive review is currently premature due to a lack of empirical scrutiny. Finally, future directions for research, including suggestions for the use of particular assessment tools and more sophisticated research designs, are discussed.

The RTI International-University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Evidence-based Practice Center systematically reviewed evidence on efficacy of treatment for bulimia nervosa (BN), harms associated with treatments, factors associated with treatment efficacy, and differential outcome by sociodemographic characteristics. We searched six major databases published from 1980 to September 2005 in all languages against a priori inclusion/exclusion criteria; we focused on eating, psychiatric or psychological, and biomarker outcomes. Forty-seven studies of medication only, behavioral interventions only, and medication plus behavioral interventions for adults or adolescents met our inclusion criteria. Fluoxetine (60 mg/day) decreases the core symptoms of binge eating and purging and associated psychological features in the short term. Cognitive behavioral therapy reduces core behavioral and psychological features in the short and long term. Evidence for medication or behavioral treatment for BN is strong, for self-help is weak; for harms related to medication is strong but either weak or nonexistent for other interventions; and evidence for differential outcome by sociodemographic factors is nonexistent. Attention to sample size, standardization of outcome measures, attrition, and reporting of abstinence from target behaviors are required. Longer follow-up intervals, innovative treatments, and attention to sociodemographic factors would enhance the literature.