Severity of somatic symptoms in outpatients with anorexia and bulimia nervosa

Objective Prior studies investigated objective somatic consequences of eating disorders whereas research on subjective somatic symptom severity, that is, profiles of subjective burden of somatic symptoms in patients with anorexia (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN), is sparse. Methods Somatic symptom severity (Patient Health Questionnaire-15) was investigated in a cross-sectional consecutive sample of outpatients with AN or BN. Using regression and mediation analyses, effects of somatic symptom severity on days of sick leave during the last 2 weeks and quality of life were examined. Results Compared with AN-outpatients (n = 90, M-BMI = 17.2, M-age = 27.9 years, 95% female), BN-outpatients (n = 63, M-BMI = 21.8, M-age = 29.0 years, 93% female) reported a significantly higher somatic symptom severity (p = 0.016). Increased somatic symptom severity predicted days of sick leave during the last 2 weeks (p = 0.036) and physical quality of life (p = <0.001). However, after controlling for depression and anxiety as mediators, somatic symptom severity did no longer predict psychological quality of life (p = n.s.). Conclusions Somatic symptom severity is high in both eating disorders. As it is associated with increased sick leave during the last 2 weeks and decreased quality of life, it adds to the psychological burden of AN and BN. Future research should investigate predictors of subjective somatic symptom severity and whether direct somatic symptom management enhances treatment of AN and BN.