Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Clin Cases. Jun 6, 2026; 14(16): 120211
Published online Jun 6, 2026. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v14.i16.120211
Published online Jun 6, 2026. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v14.i16.120211
Early-onset anorexia nervosa in prepubertal male twin: A case report
Augustė Lapinskaitė, Austėja Voiniušytė, Goda Valantiejienė, Sigita Lesinskienė, Clinic of Psychiatry, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius LT-03101, Vilniaus Miestas, Lithuania
Tadas Valiulis, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius LT-03101, Vilniaus Miestas, Lithuania
Co-first authors: Augustė Lapinskaitė and Austėja Voiniušytė.
Author contributions: Lesinskienė S conceived the case report; Voiniušytė A and Lapinskaitė A collected the clinical data; Voiniušytė A, Lapinskaitė A, and Valiulis T contributed to the drafting and preparation of the manuscript; Valantiejienė G and Lesinskienė S contributed to clinical supervision and critically revised the manuscript for important intellectual content; and all authors approved the final version of the manuscript.
AI contribution statement: As mentioned in AI contribution statement before, an AI-based tool Grammarly was used solely for language editing. It assisted in refining grammar and spelling but did not contribute to the scientific content, interpretation, or structure of the manuscript. The content, clinical interpretation, and conclusions are based entirely on the authors’ original work and clinical experience.
Informed consent statement: Informed consent was obtained from the patient’s guardians for publication of this case report.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this case report.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Corresponding author: Sigita Lesinskienė, MD, PhD, Full Professor, Clinic of Psychiatry, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, M. K. Čiurlionio g. 21, Vilnius LT-03101, Vilniaus Miestas, Lithuania. sigita.lesinskiene@mf.vu.lt
Received: February 24, 2026
Revised: March 31, 2026
Accepted: April 20, 2026
Published online: June 6, 2026
Processing time: 92 Days and 8.8 Hours
Revised: March 31, 2026
Accepted: April 20, 2026
Published online: June 6, 2026
Processing time: 92 Days and 8.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Early-onset anorexia nervosa (EOAN), defined as onset before 14 years of age, is a rare but clinically significant condition that may present in prepubertal boys and remains underrecognized. This case report describes EOAN in a 10-year-old male twin with rapid weight loss and self-injurious behaviors, emphasizing that anorexia nervosa can manifest with significant psychopathology before adolescence. The case highlights the critical importance of early recognition and prompt implementation of intensive, multidisciplinary, family-centered treatment to mitigate long-term physical and developmental consequences.