Anorexia nervosa is a disorder with a grim reputation. Even experts say that anorexia is often devastatingly chronic and carries high mortality rates.
However, these views are highly biased. A study recently conducted in Finland among young women uncovers a completely different side to anorexia.
In the first nationwide outcome study anorexia of conducted to date, anorexia is a common, often severe, but highly transient illness. Its outcome is generally good: up to 70% of women with anorexia recover before age 30 according to collaborating scientist at Columbia University and University of Helsinki, Finland.
Anorexia is common but often overlooked
In the Finnish study, 2.2% of Finnish young women suffered from severe anorexia nervosa. When milder forms of self-starvation and obsessive anxiety about weight and shape were included, up to 5% of women suffered from anorexic symptoms during their lifetime. Anorexic symptoms usually started between ages 10 and 25; the peak of illness onset was between ages 15 and 19. Although Finland has an excellent taxpayer-funded healthcare system that covers everyone, only half of women with anorexia nervosa were recognized by healthcare professionals. Even fewer received any typeof treatment for their symptoms.
Seven out of ten women with anorexia recover
By age 30, up to 70% of women with anorexia had recovered from their illness. On average, the duration of anorexia was three years; about 25% recovered within a year, about 33% within 2 years, and about 67% within 5 years from the onset of their symptoms.