Endocrine abnormalities in eating disorders

Abstract

Endocrine abnormalities are common in patients suffering from eating disorders. They represent an adaptive phenomenon that could determine several complications. These abnormalities tend often to ameliorate with improvement of eating behavior and/or normalization of body weight. The main endocrine changes involve the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPG), featuring a so-called hypogonadotropic hypogonadism in AN, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA), hyperactivated in AN patients, depending on an enhanced synthesis and a reduced clearance of cortisol, the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis, featuring the low T3 syndrome, and some central and peripheric neuropeptides too. Among them, NPY, PYY, ghrelin, endogenous opioids, leptin, and CCK have been intensively studied in recent years.