A naturalistic study of plasma lipid alterations in female patients with anorexia nervosa before and after weight restoration treatment

Alia Arif Hussain, Jessica Carlsson*, Erik Lykke Mortensen, Simone Daugaard Hemmingsen, Cynthia M. Bulik, René Klinkby Støving, Jan Magnus Sjögren

*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

Background: Plasma lipid concentrations in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) seem to be altered. Methods: We conducted a naturalistic study with 75 adult female patients with AN and 26 healthy female controls (HC). We measured plasma lipid profile, sex hormones and used self-report questionnaires at admission and discharge. Results: Total cholesterol (median (IQR): 4.9 (1.2)) and triglycerides (TG) (1.2 (0.8)) were elevated in AN at admission (BMI 15.3 (3.4)) compared with HC (4.3 (0.7), p = 0.003 and 0.9 (0.3), p = 0.006) and remained elevated at discharge (BMI 18.9 (2.9)) after weight restoration treatment. Estradiol (0.05 (0.1)) and testosterone (0.5 (0.7)) were lower in AN compared with HC (0.3 (0.3), p = < 0.001 and 0.8 (0.5), p = 0.03) and remained low at discharge. There was no change in eating disorder symptoms. Depression symptoms decreased (33 (17) to 30.5 (19), (p = 0.007)). Regression analyses showed that illness duration was a predictor of TG, age was a predictor of total cholesterol and LDL, while educational attainment predicted LDL and TG. Conclusion: Lipid concentrations remained elevated following weight restoration treatment, suggesting an underlying, premorbid dysregulation in the lipid metabolism in AN that persists following weight restoration. Elevated lipid concentrations may be present prior to illness onset in AN. Level of evidence: III: Evidence obtained from well-designed cohort or case–control analytic studies.

Original languageEnglish
Article number92
JournalJournal of Eating Disorders
Volume12
Issue number1
Number of pages14
ISSN2050-2974
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.

Keywords

  • Anorexia nervosa
  • Cholesterol
  • Eating disorders
  • Estradiol
  • Lipids
  • Sex hormones
  • Testosterone

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