INTRODUCTIONThe prevalence rate of anorexia nervosa is lower in Asia than in the West, although studies have found that it is on the rise in Asia. This study aims to present the clinical profile of patients presenting with anorexia nervosa in Singapore.

METHODSThe present study used archival data from the Eating Disorder Programme registry of the Department of Psychiatry, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore. Patient records from 2003 to 2010 were collected and analysed. Presenting characteristics of the patients were also compared with those of another local study conducted eight years earlier.

RESULTSFrom 2003 to 2010, a total of 271 patients were diagnosed with anorexia nervosa by a psychiatrist in our hospital. Of these, 251 (92.6%) were female and 238 (87.8%) were Chinese. Our patients had a lower mean weight (36.83 kg, p < 0.001) and a lower mean body mass index (BMI) (14.43 kg/m(2), p < 0.001) than patients from the previous local study. Almost half of all our patients (n = 135, 49.8%) were diagnosed with at least one psychiatric comorbidity and 50 (18.5%) had a history of self-harm.

CONCLUSIONThe presenting characteristics of our study cohort were similar to those of the Western population. However, the lower presenting weight and BMI in our cohort indicates that cases seen today are more severe than those seen eight years ago. Therefore, it is important to put in place prevention programmes to help adolescents cultivate a healthy body image as well as early intervention programmes to improve detection rates and treatment outcomes.