The rate among women ages 15 to 19, the peak interval of risk, was 270/100,000 person years. Other studies have shown that rate to be much lower-136/100,000 person-years in the U.S., for example, the researchers said.

However, it has been estimated that only about half of all cases of anorexia are detected by primary care physicians and that only about a third receive mental health care.

Thus the "natural" course of the disease remains poorly understood, and the incidence has been substantially underestimated in previous studies, Dr. Anna Keski-Rahkonen said.

She and her colleagues found that only half of the women who reported being anorexic were recognized as such by healthcare professionals, suggesting a much higher prevalence of the eating disorder.

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