Family‐based treatment for adolescent anorexia nervosa: What happens to rates of comorbid diagnoses?

Objective Rates of psychiatric comorbidity are elevated in adolescents with anorexia nervosa, but little is known about how psychiatric comorbidity changes following family‐based treatment (FBT). Methods Adolescents with anorexia nervosa (N = 107) enrolled in a randomized controlled trial comparing two forms of FBT completed the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents at baseline and end of treatment. Analyses tested whether baseline comorbid diagnoses predicted the presence of comorbid diagnoses at end of treatment and if baseline eating disorder psychopathology impacted this association. Results Rates of comorbid diagnoses decreased from 54% at baseline to 26% at end of treatment. Logistic regression analyses indicated that individuals with multiple comorbid diagnoses at baseline were more likely to meet criteria for a comorbid condition at end of treatment (b = 2.00, p