Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a disorder characterised by deliberately maintained low body weight and distorted body image. Those with AN have many medical and psychological complications and the risk of dying from the disease is relatively high.
One form of intervention commonly utilised to treat patients with AN is family therapy. Although there are a number of different forms of family therapy, the current review of 13 trials indicated that the therapy most often tested in trials is family based therapy. The trials included in the review had limitations in the reporting of trial conduct and meaningful outcomes. Overall there was some evidence to suggest family therapy may be effective compared to treatment as usual. However, there is not enough evidence to determine whether family therapy is effective compared to other psychological interventions for rates of remission. There were no differences in relapse rates, symptom scores, weight measures, or the number of drop outs between those treated with family therapy versus any other comparison group. Mortality was not measured or reported sufficiently to determine whether it is reduced for those treated with family therapy compared to other interventions. There were very little data about general or family functioning.