The average number of years from onset to remission of AN is seven for women and three for men. After ten to fifteen years, 70% of people no longer meet the diagnostic criteria, but many still continue to have eating-related problems.Alexithymia (inability to identify and describe ones own emotions) influences treatment outcome. Recovery is also viewed on a spectrum rather than black and white. According to the Morgan-Russell criteria, individuals can have a good, intermediate, or poor outcome. Even when a person is classified as having a "good" outcome, weight only has to be within 15% of average, and normal menstruation must be present in females. The good outcome also excludes psychological health. Recovery for people with anorexia nervosa is undeniably positive, but recovery does not mean a return to normal. Complications
Anorexia nervosa can have serious implications if its duration and severity are significant and if onset occurs before the completion of growth, pubertal maturation, or the attainment of peak bone mass. Complications specific to adolescents and children with anorexia nervosa can include the following:
Growth retardation may occur, as height gain may slow and can stop completely with severe weight loss or chronic malnutrition. In such cases, provided that growth potential is preserved, height increase can resume and reach full potential after normal intake is resumed.
Pertussis is increasingly being recognised as a cause of troublesome coughing in adults. After a respiratory tract infection has cleared, the person may be left with a postinfectious cough. This typically is a dry, non-productive cough that produces no phlegm. Symptoms may include a tightness in the chest, and a tickle in the throat. This cough may often persist for weeks after an illness. The cause of the cough may be inflammation similar to that observed in repetitive stress disorders such as carpal tunnel syndrome. The repetition of coughing produces inflammation which produces discomfort, which in turn produces more coughing. Postinfectious cough typically does not respond to conventional cough treatments. Treatment consists of any anti-inflammatory medicine (such as ipratropium) to treat the inflammation, and a cough suppressant to reduce frequency of the cough until inflammation clears. Inflammation may increase sensitivity to other existing issues such as allergies, and treatment of other causes of coughs (such as use of an air purifier or allergy medicines) may help speed recovery. Reactive airway disease
When coughing is the only complaint of a person who meets the criteria for asthma (bronchial hyperresponsiveness and reversibility), this is termed cough-variant asthma. Atopic cough and eosinophilic bronchitis are related conditions. Atopic cough occurs in individuals with a family history of atopy (an allergic condition), abundant eosinophils in the sputum, but with normal airway function and responsiveness. Eosinophilic bronchitis is characterized by eosinophils in sputum and in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid without airway hyperresponsiveness or an atopic background. This condition responds to treatment with corticosteroids.