DSM 5 Updates for Eating Disorders: Implications for diagnosis and clinical practice

Margaret Mannix, PhD
Staff Psychologist, Rhode Island Hospital, Division of Child & Family Psychiatry, Hasbro Children’s Partial Hospital Program
Assistant Professor (Clinical), Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior and Pediatrics
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University

The DSM-5 updates to the eating disorder category have several implications for diagnosis and clinical care.  Research ahead of the updated guidelines emphasized the high prevalence of eating disorder-NOS diagnoses, whether binge eating disorder is a valid diagnosis, whether amenorrhea should be a criterion for anorexia nervosa (AN), and the frequency of behaviors required for bulimia nervosa. DSM-5 updates may result in more individuals being diagnosed with AN versus ED-NOS. Overall, changes have the potential to improve treatment guidelines for all patients with eating disorders and to significantly further our knowledge as providers and researchers.