Resumen de Lipid profile and cardiovascular risk in anorexia nervosa; the effect of nutritional treatment

B. Jaúregui Garrido, Patricia Bolaños Ríos, María José Santiago Fernández, Ignacio Jáuregui Lobera

• Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the lipid profile in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN), and the changes with refeeding.

  Methods: The sample comprised 102 AN outpatients (mean age 22.32 ± 3.17). Blood tests, after 12-hour overnight fast, were performed before refeeding (M0) and after weight restoration (M1). Total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoproteins (HDL), low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and triglycerides (TRG) were determined and the following cardiovascular risk markers were calculated: LDL/HDL and TC/HDL ratios. These cut-off points were considered: TC < 200 mg/dl; HDL > 40 mg/dl;

  LDL < 100 mg/dl and TRG < 150 mg/dl.

  Results: The time leading to weight restoration was 8.16 ± 7.35 months. Considering patients with scores higher and lower than the corresponding cut-off points, ÷2-test revealed a significant difference (M0-M1) in case of TC (p < 0.05) as well as between LDL/HDL0 and LDL/HDL1 (p < 0.05) and between TC/HDL0 and TC/HDL1 (p < 0.01). Significant differences were found between HDL0 and HDL1 (p < 0.01) and between TRG0 and TRG1 (p < 0.01). Significant and negative associations between BMI0 and TC0 (r = -0.331; p < 0.05) and between TRG0 and HDL0 (r = -0.387; p < 0.05) were found. The association between TRG1 and LDL1 was significant and positive.

  Discussion: Weight restoration tends to decrease the TC/HDL and LDL/HDL ratios despite a considerable percentage of patients maintain scores on the different variables of the lipid profile usually considered at risk.