A case of late-onset anorexia nervosa with behavioural dysregulation in a 72-year-old woman, precipitated after olanzapine discontinuation.

Authors

Prabin Gautam, Manahil Baig, Efiong Ephraim, Samrana Khan, Tia Hamilton

Published in

BJPsych open. Volume 12. Issue 5. Pages e228. Sep 07, 2026. Epub Sep 07, 2026.

Abstract

This report details the case of a 72-year-old woman with a 5-year history of anorexia nervosa, whose presentation challenges the conventional presentation of anorexia nervosa. She was admitted under the Mental Health Act (MHA) of England and Wales because of escalating behavioural disturbance, including aggression and disinhibition, together with a long-standing pattern of restrictive eating and distorted body image. She presented with a markedly low body mass index, compulsive exercise and profound lack of insight, complicated by dilutional hyponatraemia, a less commonly reported but potentially life-threatening compensatory behaviour. Particularly noteworthy was the close temporal association between olanzapine discontinuation and the recurrence of severe weight loss and behavioural disturbance. Further complicating her assessment was the presence of encopresis and enuresis. Treatment involved multidisciplinary collaboration, thorough investigation to rule out age-related differentials, structured refeeding and cautious medication management, including olanzapine titration. This case highlights the diagnostic and therapeutic challenges of anorexia nervosa in older adults.

PMID:
42702522
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 07 Sep 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.