Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41102761›Full record

ArticleJournal of eating disorders2025

What does taking olanzapine mean to young people with anorexia nervosa and their families? Findings from the OPEN feasibility trial.

Rachel Rowan Olive, Vanessa Kellermann, Olena Said, Ece Sengun Filiz, Janet Treasure, Ulrike Schmidt, Jessica Bentley, Joel W T Khor, Mima Simic, Dasha Nicholls and 2 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of eating disorders, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Rachel Rowan Olive *Department of Health Service and Population Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AD, UK.
Vanessa Kellermann *Department of Psychological Medicine, Centre for Research in Eating and Weight Disorders (CREW), Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Olena SaidDepartment of Psychological Medicine, Centre for Research in Eating and Weight Disorders (CREW), Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Ece Sengun FilizImperial College London, London, UK.
Janet TreasureDepartment of Psychological Medicine, Centre for Research in Eating and Weight Disorders (CREW), Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Ulrike SchmidtDepartment of Psychological Medicine, Centre for Research in Eating and Weight Disorders (CREW), Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Jessica BentleyDepartment of Psychological Medicine, Centre for Research in Eating and Weight Disorders (CREW), Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Joel W T KhorSt George's Eating Disorders Service, South West London and St. George's Mental Health NHS Trust, London, UK.
Mima SimicSouth London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Dasha NichollsImperial College London, London, UK.
Hubertus HimmerichDepartment of Psychological Medicine, Centre for Research in Eating and Weight Disorders (CREW), Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Vanessa LawrenceDepartment of Health Service and Population Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AD, UK. vanessa.c.lawrence@kcl.ac.uk.

Funding

National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre (NETSCC) Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme NIHR130780
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOlanzapine is a second-generation antipsychotic medication often prescribed for young people with Anorexia Nervosa (AN), though supporting evidence is limited. The OPEN feasibility trial of olanzapine for young people (12-24 years) with AN, explored the feasibility of a future definitive trial on olanzapine in young people. Qualitative interviews examined the acceptability of olanzapine and trial design among young people with AN and their families. Here, we explore: what does taking olanzapine mean to young people with AN and their families, specifically regarding decisions to take or decline it?

methodsTwelve young people who agreed to take olanzapine, two who declined, and four parents took part in semi-structured qualitative interviews, which were conducted and analysed by lived-experience researchers using reflexive thematic analysis. Four young people who agreed to take olanzapine also took part in follow-up interviews, totalling 23 interviews with 16 participants. Of the interviewed parents, three had a child who consented to olanzapine and one had a child who declined. Lived-experience-led analysis, influenced by the survivor research tradition, is novel as applied to this topic.

resultsWe constructed four themes: (1) Moving away from illness in contexts of desperation, moving towards recovery as broader life goals; (2) Parents and young people critically evaluate multiple information sources on olanzapine; (3) Consent versus coercion in olanzapine decision-making are determined by treatment history and clinical power dynamics; (4) Ambivalence around recovery can be heightened regarding medication. Across themes, young people and parents showed their decision-making to be careful and context-bound, factoring in: concerns around treatment delays; trusting or mistrustful relationships to clinicians or the broader system; peer experiences; and fears around recovery alongside goals for improved quality-of-life. Reported clinical conversations about weight gain did not always reflect olanzapine's evidence base. Important risks included unsupervised olanzapine cessation where wishes to stop were not accommodated clinically, and increased food restriction on starting olanzapine.

conclusionsViews and experiences of olanzapine are inseparable from young people's clinical and social contexts. Clinicians should consider discussing these contexts alongside medication, bearing in mind clinical encounters' complex power dynamics, and should be clear about olanzapine's association with weight gain.

trial registrationISRCTN80075010.

Indexed as

Anorexia nervosaLived experienceOlanzapineQualitativeThematic analysis

Identifiers

PMID41102761
PMCPMC12533353

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.