Sexual dysfunction in married female patients with anorexia and bulimia nervosa.

The immediacy of anorexia and bulimia nervosa tends to obscure the adjunct problems of eating-disordered patients. The literature records no data pertaining to the treatment of concomitant psychosexual dysfunctions. The authors report the cases of five young married women referred for psychosexual therapy from eating disorders programs. The therapists found that each of the women was suffering from at least one additional disorder. Basic issues of control, grounded in these patients' early lives, generated intense resistance to treatment. The authors emphasize the need for accelerated research to gather the data from which to develop an effective treatment program for eating-disordered patients with associated sexual dysfunctioning.