Bulimia: Half recover within 5-10 years

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Wednesday, December 03, 2003 3:20 am Email this article
HALF OF WOMEN diagnosed with bulimia nervosa recover completely, with or without treatment, after 5 to 10 years suggests a recent analysis.

Another 20 percent still exhibit the disorder, while the rest continue to have problems with binging and purging but not to the extent to be formally classified as having bulimia.

Within 4 years of diagnosis, roughly one-third of those who recover have a relapse.

The analysis combined 88 studies that included a total of 2,194 bulimic women who were followed for 6 months to 10 years.

REFERENCE

American Journal of Psychiatry, Mar 1997, as reported in BB, Prospects for beating bulimia, Science News, 22 Mar 1997, 151(12):183.

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