"This is the first study to show that estrogen replacement ameliorates the tendency for anxiety in anorexia nervosa and may prevent increasing body dissatisfaction with weight gain," said the study's lead author Madhusmita Misra, MD, MPH, pediatric endocrinologist and associate professor of pediatrics at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA. "This is very important given that anorexia nervosa can be difficult to treat, and underlying anxiety, eating attitudes and concerns of body shape with increasing weight during treatment may reduce the success of treatment programs."