Evaluation of cognitive function in patients with severe anorexia nervosa before and after medical stabilization

• Main Authors: Melanie Rylander, Gillian Taylor, Susan Bennett, Christopher Pierce, Angela Keniston, Philip S. Mehler
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2020-07-01
• Series: Journal of Eating Disorders
• Subjects: Anorexia nervosa; Malnutrition; Cognition; Refeeding; Starved brain
• Online Access: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40337-020-00312-5

Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to quantify cognitive deficits in severe anorexia nervosa (AN) before and after medical stabilization. Methods This was a prospective study of 40 females between the ages of 18 and 50 admitted to a medical stabilization unit with severe AN (%IBW < 70). The primary outcome of the study was change in test scores on the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) at baseline and after medical stabilization. Results There were no statistically significant differences in baseline RBANS scores between AN patients overall and controls (p = 0.0940). There was a statistically significant change in RBANS from baseline 94.1 + 12.7 to medical stabilization 97.1 + 10.6 (p = 0.0173), although notably both mean values fell within the average range. There were no significant differences in baseline RBANS scores between controls and AN-BP patients (p = 0.3320) but significant differences were found between controls and AN-R patients (p = 0.0434). Conclusions No baseline deficits in cognition were found in this sample of women with severe AN.