摂食障害

Recently there appears to have been a remarkable increase in the number of patients with eating disorders among adolescent girls and young women in Japan. The author reviewed and assessed the literature on eating disorders in terms of etiology, epidemiology,diagnosis, clinical symptoms, prognosis and treatment.The usual course of eating disorders is chronic over many years. This illness is an important psychosomatic disease and one of the few psychiatric disease that may have a course leading to death.It is suggested that the role of general physicians with better understanding of these disorders is very important, because the proper treatment during its early stages results in a better prognosis. It is also suggested that education and helpful guidance provided by schools and health centers is needed for prevention of these disorders in the future.