Eating Disorder Treatment Flashcards

Which lab finding is most indicative of severe malnutrition requiring immediate medical stabilization before outpatient eating disorder treatment?

Answer: Heart rate of 46 bpm

Bradycardia (heart rate below 50 bpm) is a medical emergency in anorexia nervosa and requires inpatient stabilization.

The 'fear foods' hierarchy used in eating disorder treatment is a tool derived from which theoretical framework?

Answer: Cognitive behavioral therapy

The fear foods hierarchy is a CBT exposure tool where patients gradually face avoided foods from least to most feared.

Which eating disorder has the highest mortality rate among all psychiatric disorders?

Answer: Anorexia nervosa

Anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality of any psychiatric disorder, with deaths from cardiac complications and suicide.

A night eating syndrome (NES) patient reports consuming >25% of daily calories after the evening meal. Which intervention is first-line?

Answer: Structured meal timing with earlier caloric distribution

Restructuring meal timing to distribute calories more evenly throughout the day addresses the core behavioral pattern of NES.

Which serum marker, though not specific, is often monitored as a proxy for nutritional rehabilitation progress in anorexia nervosa?

Answer: Prealbumin (transthyretin)

Prealbumin has a short half-life (~2 days), making it a more sensitive marker of recent nutritional status changes than albumin.

Orthorexia nervosa is characterized by:

Answer: Obsessive focus on consuming 'pure' or 'correct' foods with significant life impairment

Orthorexia involves a pathological preoccupation with food purity and quality that causes significant functional impairment, though it is not yet a formal DSM diagnosis.

In treating an athlete with relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S), the primary nutrition intervention is:

Answer: Restoring energy availability to ≥45 kcal/kg of fat-free mass per day

RED-S is caused by insufficient energy availability; restoring it to ≥45 kcal/kg FFM/day reverses hormonal, bone, and metabolic disruptions.