Carolina Tovar BorreroAbnormal Psych-JosephFeburary 11, 2013Hill, S., Laura, Lacey, Hubert, Scholtz, Samantha (2010). Eating Disorders in Older Women: Does Late Onset Anorexia Nervosa Exist. International J Eating Disorders 2010, 43, 393-397There is a universal unanimity for the age of anorexia nervosa to be mostly between 16 and 25, and little to be said about this disorder at later periods in life. With the help from St. Georges Eating Disorder services, Laura Hill, Hubert Lacey, and Samantha Scholtz were able to look at a sample population and determine if anorexia nervosa could start at over 50 years of age.Researchers were able to date back ten years to see how possible the onset of the disorder was within people over the age of 50 with no previous anorexia periods in their life. They found 32 potential participants for the study and out of those people, 26 of them had enough clinical notes to be added to the research. The average age of participants included was 53. From the 32, 92% were diagnosed with anorexia, one with bulimia, and another with EDNOS (Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified). Through questionnaires, interviews, and intense research in their medical files, the researchers were able to conclude that none of the participants had their first onset of the disorderafter the age of 50. All involved had been diagnosed before the age of 25 and some even before going through puberty. The participants that continued to severely suffer with the disorder were also comorbid to depression and other anxiety disorders. Only one of the participants from the study was able to fully recover from their anorexia history, for most others it was a lifelong disorder that brought along many challenges to be dealt with. Nearly half of the participants were able to restore back to healthy and normal weight but still continued to deal with anorexic psychopathology.Carolina Tovar BorreroAbnormal Psych-JosephFeburary 11, 2013The results of this study showed no evidence that anorexia nervosa can first appear in people after the age of 50, yet researchers were unable to find participants who had their initial onset of this disorder after 25 years of age. The study could have also been affected by the willingness of those whose onset is at a later age to receive treatment. In spite of these restrictions to the study, it did provide significant evidence that those who suffer from anorexia deal with a lifelong disorder that affects their daily lives physically and psychologically as well. It could be possible that the statistics supporting a later age diagnoses are so low it is overlooked.This study also was able to prove that the likelihood of having an original diagnosis for anorexia after the age of 50 is very
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