Eating Disorder vs Addison's Disease: A Case Report and Review of the Published Case Reports

Abstract

Aim: This report presents the case of a 56-year-old female, initially diagnosed with an eating disorder, who was ultimately found to suffer from Addison's disease. The aim is to highlight the differences between these two conditions to prevent future misdiagnoses.  

Case Presentation: The patient was admitted to the hospital under the care of the Internal Medicine Department due to an electrolyte imbalance. Following consultations with Psychiatry and Endocrinology, further evaluations led to the diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency. This case prompted a review of the literature on this topic. A comprehensive PubMed search identified nine published case reports of patients with adrenocortical insufficiency who were initially misdiagnosed with an eating disorder.  

Result: The data from these 10 cases, including the present one, were analyzed in terms of age, sex, diagnostic delay, symptoms, laboratory abnormalities, and clinical outcomes.  

Conclusions: Addison's disease is a rare and potentially fatal condition whose symptoms can sometimes be mistaken for those of an eating disorder. It is crucial for psychiatrists and other specialists to consider this differential diagnosis in similar clinical presentations.