A patient with anorexia nervosa will have:

Appeared in: AIIMS Delhi NO- 2019

Explanation

Anorexia nervosa is a state of severe malnutrition and starvation, causing the body to enter a hypometabolic state to conserve energy.
This compensatory mechanism leads to bradycardia (slowed heart rate), as the heart does not need to work as hard.
It also results in hypotension (low blood pressure) due to dehydration and weakened cardiac muscle.
Hypothermia (low body temperature) occurs from the loss of insulating subcutaneous fat and a reduced metabolic rate.

Why Other Options Were Wrong

Option A: Tachycardia (fast heart rate) and hypertension (high blood pressure) are incorrect. These signs are associated with an increased metabolic rate, which is the opposite of the physiological state in anorexia nervosa.
Option C: Tachycardia (fast heart rate) is incorrect. While hypotension and hypothermia are characteristic of anorexia, tachycardia is not. The body slows down, it does not speed up.
Option D: Hypertension (high blood pressure) and hyperthermia (high body temperature) are incorrect. These conditions indicate an overactive metabolic state, contrary to the effects of starvation.

Related Visual

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: Use the key finding related to Physiological manifestations of anorexia nervosa to guide bedside assessment, documentation, and the next nursing action.
Nurses must meticulously monitor vital signs in patients with anorexia nervosa, as bradycardia, hypotension, and hypothermia are indicators of severe medical instability.
A key nursing responsibility is monitoring for refeeding syndrome, a potentially fatal complication that can occur when a severely malnourished patient begins to eat again. This can cause rapid shifts in electrolytes and fluid.
What if the patient suddenly develops tachycardia? This would be an alarming sign. While the baseline is bradycardia, a sudden switch to tachycardia could indicate an arrhythmia, infection (sepsis), or severe dehydration, requiring immediate medical evaluation.

How to Approach the Question

First, identify the core concept of the question, which is 'anorexia nervosa'.
Recall the pathophysiology of this condition. Anorexia is a state of starvation.
Think logically about how the body would respond to starvation. To survive, it must conserve energy.
Analyze the options based on this principle: 'slowing down'. Bradycardia (slow heart rate), hypotension (low pressure), and hypothermia (low temperature) are all signs of the body conserving energy. Tachycardia, hypertension, and hyperthermia are signs of an increased metabolic rate, which is the opposite of what occurs.

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: Physiological manifestations of anorexia nervosa
Stem keywords: anorexia nervosa
Lead-in keywords: will have
Negative lead-in flag: false

Question ID

QKyH4qnDBSFdTedHEAAwlg

Reference Book

E6 Kaplan Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry-2022 (pp 1-3768 of 3768) pp. 1501-1503, 1499-1501

E6 Robert Boland, Marcia L. Verduin - Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Text of Psychiatry-Wolters Kluwer Health (2024) (pp 1-16525 of 16525) p. 6936-6938

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