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TL;DR
This case report describes a 10-year-old girl whose severe anorexia nervosa-induced weight loss appeared to mask her pre-existing ADHD symptoms, which then re-emerged during weight recovery.
Children · 6 authors, 1 centre
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This case report describes a 10-year-old girl whose severe anorexia nervosa-induced weight loss appeared to mask her pre-existing ADHD symptoms, which then re-emerged during weight recovery.
This is a clinical case report of a 10-year-old girl with comorbid anorexia nervosa (AN) and ADHD. The patient was diagnosed with ADHD at age 5 but medication was refused. Severe weight loss from AN beginning in 3rd grade coincided with a significant reduction in her hyperkinetic symptoms. At admission for inpatient treatment, she was massively underweight and exhibited no clinically relevant ADHD symptoms. Following weight gain, attention difficulties, motoric hyperactivity, and impulsivity reappeared, impairing her daily life. She was treated with methylphenidate, which showed good clinical response and tolerability. The authors hypothesize that the profound underweight suppressed ADHD-specific behaviors through unknown neurocognitive mechanisms. Limitations include this being a single case report from one institution, which limits generalizability. The findings suggest clinicians should be aware that severe weight loss may mask ADHD symptoms in children, necessitating careful monitoring during eating disorder treatment.