What is it about?
The number of men who develop eating disorders is rising fast. Many of them are neurodivergent. Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is the commonest type of eating disorder experienced by neurodivergent people. Autistic males have the worst prognosis of all patient groups with anorexia.
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Why is it important?
Each patient requires an individual assessment of their needs and autistic people have different needs to those who are neurotypical. Among males particularly, gastric emptying may be delayed leading to a dilated stomach with as much as 4 litres of contents. This complication is called gastroparesis. Without prompt diagnosis and appropriate management, it may prove fatal.
Perspectives
I am supporting two friends who lost their son to aspiration pneumonia from undiagnosed gastroparesis. He was a young autistic male whose needs were neither recognised nor addressed. We are trying to ensure that this never happens again. https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/full/10.12968/hmed.2024.0643
Dr Clive Kelly
James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Improving Understanding, Recognition and Treatment for Men With Anorexia Nervosa, British Journal of Hospital Medicine, June 2025, Mark Allen Group,
DOI: 10.12968/hmed.2024.0643.
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