Resumption of menses after 32 years in anorexia nervosa.

In anorexia nervosa estrogen deficient amenorrhea is associated with reduced bone mineral density and increased fracture risk. We report a case of a 53 years old female patient affected with AN since the age of 17 years when also amenorrhea started. During the subsequent 31 years she refused to modify her body weight, she always remained with a BMI below 17, and amenorrhea persisted throughout all the period. In November 2005, when she was 48 years old (BMI 15.6 kg/m²), she came to the Eating Disorder Unit of Niguarda Hospital to treat surgical complication of lower limb wound persisting after two operation; she also presented a marked reduction of bone density. After 6 months of intensive day hospital treatment she got a normal body weight and resumption of menses; in the following four years she has still been well and with normal menses, and bone density showed an improvement.