Eating disorder not otherwise specified in an inpatient unit: the impact of altering the DSM-IV criteria for anorexia and bulimia nervosa.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate (1) the Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS) prevalence in an eating disorder inpatient unit; (2) the impact of altering the diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa on the prevalence of EDNOS.

METHOD: One hundred and eighty six eating disorder patients consecutively hospitalised were included in the study. The prevalence of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and EDNOS was evaluated with the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE). The EDNOS prevalence was recalculated after the alteration of three diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa and one for bulimia nervosa.

RESULTS: Seventy eight patients (41.9%) met the diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa, 33 (17.8%) for bulimia nervosa and 75 (40.3%) for EDNOS. The alteration of the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria reduced the prevalence of EDNOS to 28 cases (15%).

CONCLUSION: EDNOS is a very frequent diagnostic category in an inpatient setting. Altering the diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa reduced significantly the prevalence of EDNOS.