Context: The links between anorexia nervosa (AN) and anxiety disorders, and particularly social phobia, are little known. However, social phobia occurs frequently in AN. Some studies have shown reduction in anxious and depressive symptomatology in AN with re-nutrition. But, to our knowledge, no work has examined the evolution of social phobia symptoms during re-nutrition in AN.
Objectives: To specify the links between AN, nutritional state, and social phobia.
Method: The population consisted of 2 samples and the analysis was conducted using the SPSS11.5. Sample 1 (N=24 AN) was evaluated on admission and on leaving the hospital. Our evaluation used the body mass index (BMI), the Liebowitz scale, the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), and the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale for Eating Disorders scale (Y-BOCS-ED) respectively to evaluate or diagnose the state of malnutrition, social anxiety symptomatology, social phobia in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-4 (DSM-IV) and anorexic symptomatology. Sample 2 (N=60) was assessed at the end of the hospitalization and then 6, 12 and 18 months later. We used the BMI, Liebowitz scale, MINI, and Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI) to assess anorexic symptomatology. In addition, the Morgan-Russell outcome assessment schedule (MR schedule) was used to assess the total clinical state of the patients.
Results: Social anxiety symptomatology and actual diagnosis decreased throughout the treatment. However, regardless of the point at which the patient received care, there was no correlation between social phobia and nutritional state, as indicated by BMI. A correlation existed between social phobia and AN symptomatology, and between social phobia and total clinical state, during the out-patient care.
Conclusion: A component of AN-social phobia comorbidity is still questionable. Is it linked to the clinical state of the subjects (question of an additional effect of under nutrition and cognition), or even to AN? Others indicators of under nutrition are of interest and warrant further evaluations. We therefore feel that a diagnosis of social phobia can only be confirmed after an acute state of AN, thus allowing for preferential treatments. Others studies must be conducted in order to continue to explore the links between social phobia and AN.