Hematological alterations in adolescent girls with restrictive anorexia nervosa and secondary amenorrhea at the time of diagnosis

Background: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is associated with chronic energy deficiency and endocrine adaptations affecting multiple organ systems involving bone meta bolism and hematological homeostasis.However, early alterations in peripheral blood counts of adolescents with a clinically homogeneous AN phenotype remain in sufficiently characterized.Purpose: To examine the differences in blood counts and associated bone and endocrine parameters between adolescent girls with newly diagnosed restrictive AN and secondary amenorrhea and healthy agematched controls. Methods:The study included 59 patients and 20 controls.Hematological indices, anthropometric characteristics, body composition, bone mineral status, bone turnover, and endocrine status markers were compared, and a multivariate analysis was used to identify the predictors of blood counts.Results: Compared to controls, patients had significantly lower leukocyte, erythrocyte, and platelet counts (all P< 0.01), and 29% had cytopenia in at least one parameter.Bone formation markers (osteocalcin, aminoterminal propeptide of human procollagen type I, and alkaline phosphatase) and key endocrine parameters (insulin like growth factor1, estradiol, and free thyroxine) were suppressed.These alterations were also observed in pati ents with a normal bone mineral density and adequate vitamin B12 and folate levels.A multivariate analysis iden tified endocrine and bonerelated predictors of blood counts in controls but no consistent pattern of predictors in patients.Conclusion: Adolescent girls with restrictive AN and secondary amenorrhea demonstrated hematological al tera tions at the time of diagnosis despite the absence of a measurable skeletal impairment or micronutrient defici ency.These findings suggest that a chronic energy defici ency and endocrine adaptation are associated with early disturbances in hematological homeostasis.Peripheral blood count may represent an accessible clinical marker of systemic disturbances.