[Depressive symptoms during anorexia nervosa: State of the art and consequences for an appropriate use of antidepressants].

Objective: Depressive comorbidity is often associated with anorexia nervosa (AN), and antidepressant medication is widely used although it does not rely on any convincing data in the scientific literature. Our objectives were: to summarize the epidemiological, physiological, psychopathological literature about the relation between AN and manifestations of depression, and to focus on the clinical trial data assessing the use of antidepressant medication in AN in order to clarify the strategy for the use of antidepressant in AN during adolescence.

Method: A manual computerised search (Medline) was performed for relevant published studies assessing the association between depressive signs or Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and AN.