Improved survival in adolescent patients with anorexia nervosa: A comparison of two Swedish national cohorts of female inpatients

Objective: The authors examined two cohorts of female inpatients with anorexia nervosa a decade apart to determine whether there had been any changes in terms of survival. Method: The Swedish National Registers, which contain information about hospital discharges and deaths for the entire population, were used to investigate differences in mortality. Subjects born between 1958 and 1967 and hospitalized due to anorexia nervosa between 1977 and 1981 (N=564) were compared with subjects born between 1968 and 1977 and hospitalized due to anorexia nervosa between 1987 and 1991 (N=554). The cohorts were followed from first hospital admission until 1992 and 2002, respectively. Results: Twenty-five deaths (4.4%) were recorded within the cohort hospitalized between 1977 and 1981, and seven deaths (1.3%) occurred in the cohort hospitalized between 1987 and 1991. The hazard ratio of death for the 1977-1981 cohort relative to the 1987-1991 cohort was 3.7. Conclusions: Mortality among female patients with anorexia nervosa in hospital care in Sweden has decreased dramatically, which is probably related to the introduction of specialized care units.