Earlier Diagnosis and Treatment Helps Stem Eating Disorders From
the LA Times: A new breed of patient is getting treatment well
before the disease drags them into a downward spiral toward
starvation, sustained heart damage, weak bones, kidney damage,
long hospitalizations and numerous relapses. Health experts are
seeing a glimmer of hope that the devastation wrought by eating
disorders may be easing nearly 30 years after the illnesses
first sprang into the public consciousness with the death of
singer Karen Carpenter from anorexia-induced heart failure.
Among the encouraging signs: More patients are getting medical
treatment based on sound science; they're getting it earlier in
the course of the disease; and they're recovering faster, often
without the need for hospitalization or residential care. One
eye-opening statistic appears to speak to the trend: A recent
government analysis found that hospitalizations for people with
the primary diagnosis of an eating disorder plunged 23% between
2007-08 and 2008-09.