Fatty Acids and Their Lipogenic Enzymes in Anorexia Nervosa Clinical Subtypes.

Disordered eating behavior differs between the restricting subtype (AN-R) and the binging and purging subtype (AN-BP) of anorexia nervosa (AN). Yet, little is known about how these differences impact fatty acid (FA) dysregulation in AN. To address this question, we analyzed 26 FAs and 7 FA lipogenic enzymes (4 desaturases and 3 elongases) in 96 women: 25 AN-R, 25 AN-BP, and 46 healthy control women. Our goal was to assess subtype-specific patterns. Lauric acid was significantly higher in AN-BP than in AN-R at the fasting timepoint (