Objective: Few studies of cognitive functioning in children and adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN) have been conducted. The aim of this study was to examine the neurocognitive and intelligence profile of this clinical group.Method: The study was a matched case–control (N = 188), multi‐centre study including children and adolescents with AN (N = 94) and healthy control participants (N = 94).Results: The results suggest that Full Scale Intelligence Quotient (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children‐III/Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale‐III) in this patient group is close to the normal population mean of 100. Individuals with AN exhibited significantly worse performance in nonverbal intelligence functions (i.e. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children‐III/Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale‐III, Perceptual Organization Index) and in verbal memory (Test of Memory and Learning—Second Edition, Memory for Stories) and motor speed (Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery, Simple and Choice Reaction Time) compared with healthy control participants. No significant difference in set‐shifting ability (Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery, Intra‐Extra Dimensional Set Shift and Trail Making Test B) was found.Conclusions: Inefficiency in nonverbal intelligence functions and in specific cognitive functions was found in this study of children and adolescents with AN. © 2014 The Authors. European Eating Disorders Review published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Context: Patients with eating disorders (EDs) may have a lower mentalization ability. To the best of our knowledge, no meta-analysis has so far addressed the multidimensional mentalization profile within these patients. Objective: To summarize the existing evidence of the mentalization profile and its association with EDs. Data sources: We searched for articles in PsychINFO, Embase and PubMed using the search terms mentalization, reflective function, adult attachment interview, alexithymia, Toronto Alexithymia Scale, eye test, Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, Theory of Mind, mind-mindedness, mind-blindness, facial expression recognition, metacognition, ED, anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN). Studies included: Quantitative studies including diagnosed patients with an ED, healthy controls (HCs) and relevant test methods. Data synthesis: Forty-four studies were included. Nine studies were eligible for the meta-analysis. Significantly lower mentalization ability about oneself was found in patients with an ED when compared to HCs. Groups were more comparable when dealing with mentalization ability of others. Non-significant but clinically relevant results include a tendency for a lower mentalization ability in patients with AN compared to patients with BN. Conclusion: The mentalization profile is complex and varies across dimensions of mentalization in patients with an ED. Different degrees of mentalization between various EDs were found, implying the necessity for further research on mentalization profiles in different ED diagnoses. The sparse existing literature was a limitation for this meta-analysis, emphasizing that further research on the mentalization profile in patients with EDs is needed.

Young individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN) or recovered from AN display impairments of social function. To date, however, it is not clear whether they differ from controls with respect to neurocognitive performance and whether those functions contribute to the compromised social function observed in individuals with AN. We included 43 young females with first-episode AN, 28 individuals recovered from adolescent-onset AN, and 41 control individuals (14–22 yr), all without comorbid autism spectrum disorder. We compared the performance of participants across groups in seven neurocognitive functions relevant to social functioning: set-shifting, local processing, processing speed, working memory, sustained attention, verbal memory, and verbal abstraction. Further, we tested the association between neurocognitive function and social function, measured by Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), with an ordinal logistic regression model. First, participants did not differ on any neurocognitive function across groups. Second, only the neurocognitive function “verbal memory” was significantly associated with social function. Higher performance in verbal memory was associated with lower odds of impaired social function. Diagnostic group remained a significant factor, but the absence of an interaction between group and neurocognitive performance indicated that the association between verbal memory and social function was independent of group membership. Young individuals with AN and those recovered from AN did not differ from controls with respect to neurocognitive performance. Verbal memory was associated with social function in all groups.

Objective: Eating disorder (ED) and trauma have often been associated, and there is evidence that early experiences of traumatic events are associated with subsequent ED. Research results point toward an increased prevalence of sexual trauma in individuals with ED, and it has been suggested that sexual trauma precedes and contributes to the development of ED. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of sexual trauma as well as other types of traumatic life events in a clinical sample of children, adolescents, and adults with ED.Method: Patients (N = 329), median age 16.9 [Interquartile Range (IQR):4.5], diagnosed with various EDs in a specialized ED unit were included.Results: The majority (67%) of patients with ED reported at least one traumatic life event at time of assessment such as bullying (32%), loss (24%), or accidents (11%). Nineteen per cent of the patients reported having been the victim of a sexual trauma or another sexual traumatic event distributed as follows in terms of severity: 13% had been the victim of a negative experience associated with sex; 57% reported having experienced sexual assault other than rape; and 30% had been the victim of severe forms of sexual assault. The median time between the sexual trauma and the ED diagnosis was 3.4 years (IQR: 6.6). The median time between the sexual trauma and the onset of ED symptoms was 0 years (IQR: 5). The study results imply that the sexual trauma could be experienced either prior to or after onset of ED symptoms.Conclusions: Sixty-seven per cent of the patients with an ED reported traumatic life events at time of assessment, whereby 19% reporting negative sexual experiences or sexual abuse. However, sexual trauma does not necessarily play a causal role in the development of EDs.

Objective: The aim of this study was to characterise the association between the cognitive profile and weight restoration in children and adolescents with anorexia nervosa.Methods: The study was a longitudinal, matched case–control, multicentre study. An assessment of cognitive functions was conducted by using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–III/the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–III, the Test of Memory and Learning–second edition, Trail Making Tests A and B, the Rey–Osterrieth Complex Figure Test and the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery.Results: One hundred twenty individuals, 60 patients with anorexia nervosa with mean age of 14.65 (SD 1.820) years and 60 healthy controls with mean age of 14.76 (SD 1.704) years, participated. No association was found between weight recovery and cognitive functions. However, a significant increase in motor speed was found in Trail Making Test A (p = 0.004), Reaction Time (RTI) five‐choice movement time (p = 0.002) and RTI simple movement time (p = 0.011), resulting in a normalisation corresponding to that found in healthy controls. Furthermore, a significantly lower score in the perceptual organization index (p = 0.029) was found at follow‐up.Conclusions: Weight recovery appears not to be associated with cognition. Copyright © 2016 The Authors European Eating Disorders Review published by Eating Disorders Association and John Wiley & Sons Ltd

There has been a steep increase in referrals to child and adolescent psychiatric (CAP) services across Western countries. To fit CAP services to the increasing demand, it is important to gain more ...