Impact of an Olfactory Sensory Therapeutic Group in the Therapeutic Armamentarium for Adolescent Patients With Restrictive Anorexia Nervosa, Pilot Study

Currently, there is no specific consensus on the treatment of anorexia nervosa due to a lack of international scientific evidence. The guidelines recommend that patients be managed on an outpatient basis whenever possible with psychological treatment. This treatment must be provided by experience and a qualified service that can also assess the physical risks. Family therapy is the most popular psychological treatment for children and adolescents with anorexia nervosa. The drugs are considered adjunctive therapy and often have not shown significant results. Nutritional rehabilitation programs establish target weights based on body mass index (BMI). The target is calculated for the age percentiles. Weight restoration requires cognitive restructuring therapy to treat cognitive impairment associated with a state of calorie restriction. In the University Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (UDCAP), we offer highly specialized treatment for restrictive anorexia in children and adolescents, which has been progressively developed over more than 25 years by a multidisciplinary team based on sensory-cognitive therapy is associated with this specific treatment. This treatment, based on sensori-cognitive therapy, is combined with the specific treatment recommended by theFrench National Authority for Health (HAS :Haute Autorité de Santé). The literature hypothesizes impaired sensory abilities are a central symptom of anorexia nervosa. Therefore, sensory impairment is expected to alter instinctive perceptions and gradually destroy recognition of primary needs. This theory of sensory integration is based on the principles of neuroscience, psychology and rehabilitation. Stimulation of olfactory sensory cognition has been used systematically in the first-line treatment of anorexic patients at UDCAP for many years and has shown encouraging clinical results which remain to be scientifically demonstrated. This study proposes the evaluation of the therapeutic impact of an olfactory sensory group carried out during the specialized care of patients with anorexia.

The main objective of this single-center, randomized, controlled, single-blind, prospective study is to compare the clinical course of eating disorder at 9 months of patients participating in an olfactory sensory therapeutic group compared to a body approach therapeutic group, classically recommended in conventional management, in patients aged 12 to 20 years with restrictive anorexia nervosa. The main objective is assessed using the Eating Attitudes Test-40 (EAT-40) scale score performed at study inclusion and at 9 months. The secondary objectives of this study are to compare between a treatment associated with an olfactory sensory therapeutic group and a body approach therapeutic group : The evolution of the Body Mass Index (BMI) at 9 months, Overall functioning, assessed using the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) at 9 months, Clinical evolution at 9 months assessed with clinical scales : Quality of life deterioration score (QUAVIAM), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Situational anxiety and anxiety trait inventory (STAI-Y), Yale-Brown Obsession Compulsion Scale (Y-BOCS), Child Post-Traumatic Stress-Reaction Index (CPTS-RI), The Autistic Quotient (AQ) ; Evolution of cognitive and sensory capacities at 9 months assessed with mental flexibility tests of Cognitive Remediation Therapy (CRT) and the self-questionnaire "Sensory profile" (Brown, Dunn)., Evolution of the therapeutic alliance at 9 months will be assessed with the Helping Alliance Questionnaire (HAQ).

The number of subjects required is 30 patients, 15 patients per group, with alpha risk of 5% and a power of 80%, with an estimated number of lost to follow-up of 30%.

The estimated duration of this study is 27 months, with a participation time for each patient of 9 months.