TABLE 65-1 - Common Characteristics of Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa

	Anorexia Nervosa	Bulimia Nervosa
Clinical Characteristics
Onset	Mid-adolescence	Late adolescence/early adulthood
Female:male	10:1	10:1
Prevalence in women	0.5%	1–3%
Weight	Markedly decreased	Usually normal
Menstruation	Absent	Usually normal
Binge eating	25–50%	Required for diagnosis
Mortality	~ 5% Per decade	Low
Physical and Laboratory Findings a
Skin/extremities	Lanugo Acrocyanosis Edema
Cardiovascular	Bradycardia Hypotension
Gastrointestinal	Salivary gland enlargement Slow gastric emptying Constipation Elevated liver enzymes	Salivary gland enlargement Dental erosion
Hematopoietic	Normochromic, normocyctic anemia Leukopenia
Fluid / Electrolyte	Increased BUN, creatinine Hyponatremia	Hypokalemia Hypochloremia Alkalosis
Endocrine	Hypoglycemia Low estrogen or testosterone Low LH and FSH Low-normal thyroxine Normal TSH Increased cortisol
Bone	Osteopenia

_aPatients with the binge-eating/purging subtype of anorexia nervosa may also exhibit the physical and laboratory findings associated with bulimia nervosa.

Abbreviations: BUN, blood urea nitrogen; LH, luteinizing hormone; FSH, follicle stimulating hormone; TSH, thyroid stimulating hormone.