Volume 30, Issue 168, February 2026

Anorexia nervosa as a systemic disease: multisystem complications and their clinical significance

Agata Olecka^1♦, Filip Gałązka², Julia Gałązka³, Tomasz Karwowski⁴, Zuzanna Czuba⁵, Mateusz Mazurek⁶, Maciej Świerczyna⁷, Mikołaj Kotusiewicz⁸, Fryderyka Orawczak⁹, Jakub Majcherek¹⁰

¹7th Military Naval Hospital, Polanki 117, 80-305 Gdańsk, Poland
²Copernicus PL Sp. z o.o., St. Adalbert Hospital, aleja Jana Pawła II 50, 80-462 Gdańsk, Poland
³Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, Wóycickiego 1/3, 01-938 Warsaw, Poland
⁴Voivodeship Hospital in Płock, Medyczna 19, 09-400 Płock, Poland
⁵Medical University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury 61, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland
⁶Medical University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury 61, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland
⁷Ministry of the Interior and Administration Hospital, Północna 42, 91-425 Łódź, Poland
⁸Jagiellonian University: Kraków, Lesser Poland
⁹Medical University of Lodz, Al. Kościuszki 4, 90-419, Łódź, Poland
¹⁰Voivodeship Hospital in Tarnów, Lwowska 178A, 33-100, Tarnów, Poland

^♦Corresponding author
Agata Olecka, 7th Military Naval Hospital, Polanki 117, 80-305 Gdańsk, Poland

ABSTRACT

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is an eating disorder with many factors - biological, psychological, and social. Chronic energy deficiency leads to adaptive but also pathological changes in many body systems. AN is increasingly recognized as a systemic disease associated with metabolic, endocrine, cardiovascular, neurological, and immunological complications. This study aimed to review recent information on how anorexia nervosa affects different body systems. It focused on the causes of these changes and whether they can improve with proper nutrition. Chronic malnutrition in AN affects the endocrine, skeletal, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, nervous, hematopoietic, and immune systems. Many of these problems can get better when patients regain weight and eat enough. But if the disease is severe or lasts a long time, some issues may stay, like weak bones or changes in the heart and brain. There is also a risk of sudden problems during refeeding. Treating anorexia nervosa needs careful diagnosis and care. Finding the disease early and starting nutrition on time is very important to prevent lasting damage and improve longterm health.

Keywords: anorexia nervosa; multisystem complications; endocrine; cardiovascular; bone metabolism

Medical Science, 2026, 30, e23ms3746

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v30i168.e23ms3746

Published: 5 February 2026