Objective: Research suggests that family-based treatment (FBT) is an effective treatment for adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN). This retrospective case series was designed to examine its usefulness with younger children.
Method: Data were abstracted from medical records of 32 children with a mean age of 11.9 years (range 9.0-12.9) meeting diagnostic criteria for AN (n=29) and eating disorder not otherwise specified-restricting type (n=3) who were treated at two sites with FBT. Baseline characteristics, before and after weights, and Eating Disorder Examination (EDE) scores were compared with an adolescent cohort (N=78) with a mean age of 15.5 years (range 13.1-18.4) who were treated with FBT.
Results: Children with AN share most disordered eating behaviors with their adolescent counterparts; however, their EDE scores are significantly lower than adolescents at both pre- and posttreatment assessments. Over the course of treatment with FBT, children showed statistically and clinically significant weight gain and improvements in eating disordered thinking as measured by the EDE.
Conclusion: FBT appears to be an acceptable and effective treatment for AN in children.