Hair test could diagnose eating disorders

According to the journal Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, researchers may have found a way to diagnose eating disorders with 80 percent accuracy using a patient’s hair. This represents a major diagnostic breakthrough because there is currently know physiological test for the disease. Physicians currently rely on other methods including patient response, but those responses aren’t always accurate since patients often hide the disease.

Researchers found that as patients cut out essential nutrients, their malnourishment is reflected in the nitrogen and carbon in their hair. By measuring this empirical evidence, doctors can better diagnose the condition. According to Kent Hatch, a scientist who worked on the study, researchers now must identify how other factors such as a weight loss diet, a vegan diet and athleticism affects hair makeup. Physicians may have an accurate test for eating disorders once all of these variables are understood.

For more on the eating disorder test:
- read this Daily Herald article

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