Revised diagnostic criteria
The American Psychiatric Association diagnostic criteria
(DSM-5) [34] have recently been reviewed. Hebebrand
et al. [9] comprehensively discusses the rationale behind
revised criteria, highlighting the reframing of psychological
symptoms so that some pejorative attitudes are removed
and other criteria are redefined to reflect the evidence. For
example, eliminating the term ‘refusal’ (to maintain body
weight), and replacing this with more objective terms describing
food restriction. The removal of the diagnostic
criteria of amenorrhea in post-menarcheal females is well
overdue given the mounting evidence that this is of questionable
utility. Similar changes are proposed for ICD-11
[35]. Clinicians involved in the assessment of AN should
become familiar with current and future diagnostic debates
in order to reduce the risk of adopting a rigid or
outdated approach to formulating core psychopathology
of AN and the expressions of this