Capacity to consent to treatment in severe eating disorders

Eating disorders represent a disabling, deadly and costly condition, whose principal treatment is constituted by weigh restoration and psychotherapy. Partial or total refuse of treatment is very common, leading some authors to question their decision-making capacity (DMC) to consent to treatment. However, very few studies have investigated treatment DMC, leading to contrasting results. Forty-five women were enrolled at the Psychiatric and Eating Disorders Unit of the University Hospital Policlinico Umberto I of Rome. Psychiatric symptoms severity (Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale Expanded, BPRS-E), treatment DMC (MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool for Treatment, MacCAT-T), depressive symptoms (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, HAM-D), anxiety symptoms (Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, HAM-A), symptoms and psychological characteristics of eating disorders (Eating Disorder Inventory, EDI-3) and Metacognitive beliefs (Metacognitions Questionnaire 30, MCQ-30) were assessed. Sixty-seven percent of the total sample showed low treatment DMC; specifically, 70.4% of patients affected by Anorexia Nervosa, 72.7% of patients affected by Bulimia Nervosa, and 42.9% of patients affected by Binge Eating Disorder. Specific psychopathological symptoms enhance or hamper patients’ decisional capacities. Clinicians should be aware of the risk of impaired DMC in this vulnerable group of patients and pay attention at those factors suggesting the need of an in-depth evaluation.