Predictors of Mortality in Eating Disorders

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Abstract
A REVIEW OF MORTALITY in mental illness found that eating disorders were associated with one of the highest risks of premature death.1 This review used standardized mortality ratios (SMRs)(number of deaths observed in a sample to number of deaths expected in the population, correcting for age, sex, and duration of follow-up). Among patients with anorexia nervosa, primary causes of death include suicide and the direct effects of starvation.2-4 For bulimia nervosa, the most common causes of death have been automobile accidents and suicide.5 Given the limited sample sizes of most outcome studies, and the resulting limited number of deaths, few predictors of mortality have been revealed.