This link is supported by studies showing that certain antidepressants can be used to successfully treat some people with eating disorders. Other psychiatric disorders can occur together with anorexia, such as OCD, self mutilation, or bipolar disorder. In general, people with anorexia nervosa have responded minimally to antidepressants. The starvation experienced by persons with anorexia nervosa can cause damage to vital organs such as the heart and brain. Breathing, pulse, and blood pressure rates drop, and those suffering from this illness may experience irregular heart rhythms or heart failure.
Nutritional deprivation causes calcium loss from bones, which become brittle and prone to breakage.
In the worst-case scenario, people with anorexia can starve themselves to death. Eating disorders have among the highest mortality rates of all mental disorders, killing up to 6 percent of their victims. Luckily, most of the complications experienced by persons with anorexia nervosa are reversible when they gain weight. It is important that people with this disorder be diagnosed and treated as soon as possible because eating disorders are most successfully treated when diagnosed early. Some patients can be treated as outpatients, but some may need hospitalization to stabilize their dangerously low weight.