What is it about?
This study examines all hospitalizations for anorexia nervosa in 11–18-year-old adolescents in Spain from 2000 to 2021, describing frequency, age, sex, comorbidities, mortality, and the impact of the COVID‑19 pandemic.
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Why is it important?
* It shows that anorexia nervosa is one of the leading causes of psychiatric hospitalization in adolescents, with a clear predominance of girls and long hospital stays, highlighting a high burden for families and the healthcare system. * It reveals an overall decline in admissions over two decades, followed by a sharp rise after COVID‑19, providing key information to plan prevention, specialized resources, and early detection in schools and primary care.
Perspectives
This work helps to better understand when and why adolescents with anorexia nervosa are hospitalized in Spain, and how this pattern has changed after the pandemic. These results, in Lucia Gallego’s view, emphasize the need for earlier care pathways, multidisciplinary teams, and specific programs for adolescent girls and for boys, who are admitted less often but show a higher in‑hospital mortality risk
Lucia Gallego Deike
Universidad Internacional de la Rioja
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Hospitalizations in adolescents with anorexia nervosa in Spain over two decades, Journal of Eating Disorders, July 2025, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1186/s40337-025-01322-x.
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