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Feeding and Eating Disorders

Anorexia Nervosa

ICD-10-CM: F50.00, F50.01, F50.02

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1. Criteria

DSM Criteria

Criterion A

  • Restriction of energy intake leads to significantly low body weight in the context of age, sex, developmental trajectory, and physical health.

DSM Criteria

Criterion B

  • There is intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, or persistent behavior that interferes with weight gain.

DSM Criteria

Criterion C

  • There is disturbance in body-weight or shape experience, undue influence of body weight or shape on self-evaluation, or persistent lack of recognition of the seriousness of low body weight.

2. Context

  • Anorexia nervosa is not just low weight. It is a pattern of restriction, fear of weight gain, and body-image distortion that pulls eating, identity, and self-evaluation into a narrow and often dangerous cycle.
  • Low weight required: Significantly low weight remains part of the core diagnosis, so the syndrome is not defined by thoughts alone.
  • Psychological drivers: The fear of weight gain and the distorted relationship to body shape help distinguish anorexia from other causes of weight loss.
  • Subtype thinking: It is still helpful to ask whether the picture is primarily restrictive or whether binge-purge behaviors are also part of it.
  • Clinical focus: Common self-report eating-disorder symptom measure.

3. Validated scales

EDE-Q

Common self-report eating-disorder symptom measure.

Eating Disorder Examination

Structured interview for diagnostic clarification and symptom severity.

BMI and medical monitoring

Not a psychiatric scale, but essential for severity and medical risk framing.

4. FDA approved treatments

Diagnosis-specific FDA indications

This prototype does not list a core anorexia-nervosa-specific FDA medication indication; treatment is centered on nutritional rehabilitation, psychotherapy, and medical stabilization. Verify current labeling for any symptom-targeted use.

No diagnosis-specific FDA medication entry is listed in this prototype section.

Interventional psychiatry modalities

  • ECT may be considered in severe comorbid depression or life-threatening psychiatric deterioration.
  • Ketamine is not a standard anorexia treatment and remains investigational.
  • TMS is under study but not established for anorexia nervosa.
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5. Top management articles

  1. Management review for Anorexia Nervosa PubMed search
  2. Anorexia Nervosa treatment guideline PubMed search
  3. Anorexia Nervosa pharmacotherapy or psychotherapy review PubMed search