What we do
About our project
Background
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is one of the most common chronic disorders in adolescence and carries one of the highest mortality rates of all psychiatric disorders. Currently, there are no clinical characteristics that aid the health care professional in predicting prognosis and duration of the illness. As the heterogeneity in the clinical presentation and course is perplexing, we will utilize clinical data to create an integrated model for predictors of prognosis. The identification of prognostic factors will guide the development of personalized care for adolescents with AN.
Objectives
We will develop an integrated model for predictors of the clinical course of first-onset AN in BRAVE, a large prospective case-control study with a repeated-measures design. BRAVE data will be used to establish the neurobiological, psychological, social and physical differences between healthy adolescents and adolescents with AN, and examine whether these differences predict the clinical outcome after one-year of follow-up. As a validation of these findings, we will also determine whether changes in anorectic symptoms are accompanied by neurobiological, psychological, social and physical changes over time. In a final step, we will combine these findings to create an integrated predictive model for the clinical course of adolescent AN.
The BRAVE cohort
This project is embedded in the BRAVE study, a longitudinal, case-control study with the main goal of identifying predictors of treatment response in a large sample of 12-to-22-year-old females with first-onset typical or atypical AN. The overall results of this study will allow for the development of individually tailored treatment strategies in order to provide better treatment for adolescents with AN.
