Quality of life in anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and eating disorder not-otherwise-specified.

Background: This study aimed to assess differences in Quality of Life (QoL) across eating disorder (ED) diagnoses, and to examine the relationship of QoL to specific clinical features.

Results: 199 patients with a diagnosed ED completed the Clinical Impairment Assessment (CIA) [Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Eating Disorders, 315-318, 2008] and the Eating Disorders Examination (EDE) [Int J Eat Disord 6:1-8]. Differences between diagnostic groups were examined, as were differences between restrictive and binge-purge subtypes. CIA scores and EDE scores were positively correlated and higher in groups with binge-purge behaviours. CIA scores were not correlated with BMI, illness duration or frequency of bingeing/purging behaviours, except in the binge-purge AN group, where CIA scores negatively correlated with BMI.

Conclusions: Patients with EDs have poor QoL and impairment increases with illness severity. Patients with binge/purge diagnoses are particularly impaired. It remains unclear which clinical features best predict the degree of impairment experienced by patients with EDs.