Relapse in Anorexia Nervosa. A Cohort Study

The hospitalization in patients with anorexia nervosa has often a short-term success, as weight is restored to a healthy level, but high percentage of patients relapse during the first year following the discharge. Starting from the observation that the relapse rate is lower in outpatient than in inpatient settings, the investigators hypothesized that the reason of this difference is the nature of inpatient treatment and post-inpatient therapy. For this reason, different procedures and strategies have been implemented during hospitalization to reduce the relapse after discharge. The aim of the study was to assess the time and the percentage of relapse after inpatient discharge and at follow-up.