Table 1.
Previous studies assessing growth and final height of AN patients.
Figure 1.
The correlation of pubertal status at admission with height SDS on admission and discharge from hospitalization.
Figure 2.
The correlation of pubertal status on admission with final adult height.
Figure 3.
Changes in height SDS in 29 anorexia nervosa patients with complete growth data.
This figure presents premorbid height-SDS in comparison with height-SDS at the time of admission and discharge, as well as with final height. The mean pre-morbid height SDS at the time of admission was significantly lower than the pre-morbid height SDS. The final height SDS was lower than both the premorbid and the target height SDS, and higher than the height SDS on admission. (• - Patients judged to be at near final height on admission; □ - Patients judged to have significant growth potential on admission).
Figure 4.
Growth curve of a representative patient.
Growth failure (“shifting” of height percentiles) was evident for about 2 years prior to admission. The weight of this patient was at the 25th percentile at age 12 years, and had shifted to considerably below the 3rd percentile during the two years prior to hospitalization. She had virtually no linear growth during the 2 years preceding her admission, with her height decreasing from the 90th percentile to the 50th percentile. Thus, her apparent “normal” height at the time of admission, may reflect growth failure related to delayed diagnosis. Growth deceleration may not have been noted, because height was at or above the 50th percentile, and the patient was probably still perceived as normal compared to her peers. Weight rehabilitation resulted in catch-up growth.