Adult avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder: a case report

ABSTRACT The aim this report is to present an adult case of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) in a patient with atypical development. To emphasize the diagnostic and behavioral characteristics of this new nosological category included in the Feeding and Eating Disorders (FED) section of DSM-5. A woman with Down Syndrome in early adulthood who developed restriction and avoidance symptoms of food until the total eating refusal with weight loss, malnutrition and dependence exclusively on enteral feeding by gastrostomy tube. This case exemplified how ARFID may remain a hidden diagnosis and even be misdiagnosed as other eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa. The increase in diagnostic suspicion for this nosological entity with neurobiological/behavioral mechanisms involved in its clinical presentations in mind, might increase knowledge about this serious eating disorder, aiming the development of evidence-based interventions.RESUMO O objetivo deste relato é apresentar um caso de transtorno alimentar evitativo/restritivo (TARE) em uma paciente adulta com desenvolvimento atípico e salientar as características diagnósticas e comportamentais dessa nova categoria nosológica incluída na seção de Transtornos Alimentares da DSM-5. Mulher com síndrom e de Down que, no início da vida adulta, evoluiu com sintomas de restrição e evitação alimentar até a recusa total da alimentação, com perda de peso, desnutrição e dependência total de alimentação ent...
Source: Jornal Brasileiro de Psiquiatria - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research