[A study of patients with anorexia nervosa in Gavleborg. More boys than girls required intensive care].

In the early 1970's British doctors (Beaumont et al) published clinical findings and concluded that anorexia nervosa is a disease occurring in both sexes. Until then it had been considered a female disease only. A number of studies have reported a rather poor outcome for boys and men. In a Danish study infertility was noted in affected men. The aim of this study is to describe typical arrays of clinical data in order to assess attitudes and values concerning the effect of treatment on 28 teenagers out of a total of 48 children and adolescents. A sociometric questionnaire was used to assess the youngsters' knowledge of their disease, their opinions concerning the competence of staff, their feelings concerning treatment, including parental involvement in therapy and medications used, as well as their opinions concerning the results of treatment. All boys are alive (in 1999), 19 years after falling ill. The boys were much more reluctant to accept inpatient care than were the girls, who seem to show greater autonomy. Participants' final appraisal of treatment is slightly positive, whereas in the hypothetical situation that a friend might fall ill with an eating disorder, a sizeable majority would recommend contact with child psychiatry.