Deborah Mitchison1, Phillipa Hay1, Shameran Slewa-Younan1, Jonathan Mond2

1.   School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney, Sydney 
2.   School of Sociology, Australian National University, Canberra 

Objective: To evaluate the relationships between self-reported lifetime diagnosis of anorexia nervosa and current quality of life and eating disorder status. Method: 3034 adults in a representative community sample were asked whether they had ever suffered from anorexia nervosa, and assessed for perceived quality of life and the presence of eating disorder features. Results: 94 participants (3.1%) reported a lifetime history of anorexia nervosa, of whom 31 (1.0%) also reported a lowest adult (age 15+) BMI of less than 18kg/m2. In comparison to other participants, those with a reported lifetime history of anorexia nervosa had poorer mental health quality of life, as measured by the Mental Component Summary Scale of the SF-36 (p < 0.05). Participants with a reported lifetime history of anorexia nervosa also reported current regular objective binge eating episodes (p < 0.001) and an “undue influence of shape and/or weight on self-evaluation” (p < 0.01) more often than other participants. Although no participants who reported a lifetime history met current criteria for anorexia nervosa, only 43% were currently asymptomatic. Conclusions: A lifetime history of anorexia nervosa is associated with reduced quality of life, and over half of the participants who reported a history of anorexia nervosa had persistent and current eating disorder symptoms. In particular, the presence of extreme weight and shape concerns was more common amongst these participants, and a significant minority was regularly binge-eating.