Accutane and Anorexia nervosa - a phase IV clinical study of FDA data

Summary:

Anorexia nervosa is reported as a side effect among people who take Accutane (isotretinoin), especially for people who are female, 10-19 old, have been taking the drug for 1 - 6 months also take Claritin,.

The phase IV clinical study analyzes which people have Anorexia nervosa when taking Accutane. It is created by eHealthMe based on reports of 33,410 people who have side effects when taking Accutane from the FDA, and is updated regularly.

What is Accutane?

Accutane has active ingredients of isotretinoin. It is often used in acne. eHealthMe is studying from 35,221 Accutane users. Check the latest studies of Accutane.

What is Anorexia nervosa?

Anorexia nervosa (psychological disorder-eating disorder characterized by immoderate food restriction and irrational fear of gaining weight) is found to be associated with 53 drugs and 291 conditions by eHealthMe. Check the latest studies of Anorexia nervosa.

eHealthMe: drug outcomes in the real world

eHealthMe runs one of the largest post-marketing drug safety studies in the world. We study millions of patients and 5,000 more each day. Our data-driven phase IV clinical trials have been referenced on 800+ peer-reviewed medical publications including The Lancet, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, and Nature. Tools to study our phase IV findings are available to the public, anonymous and free >>>.



On Sep, 03, 2026

33,410 people reported to have side effects when taking Accutane.
Among them, 20 people (0.06%) have Anorexia nervosa.

Could Accutane cause Anorexia nervosa?

Among these 20 people:

How long have people been on Accutane when they have Anorexia nervosa? *

  • < 1 month: 25.0 %
  • 1 - 6 months: 62.5 %
  • 6 - 12 months: 0.0 %
  • 1 - 2 years: 12.5 %
  • 2 - 5 years: 0.0 %
  • 5 - 10 years: 0.0 %
  • 10+ years: 0.0 %

What is the gender of people who have Anorexia nervosa when taking Accutane? *

  • female: 100 %
  • male: 0.0 %

What is the age of people who have Anorexia nervosa when taking Accutane? *

  • 0-1: 0.0 %
  • 2-9: 0.0 %
  • 10-19: 81.25 %
  • 20-29: 18.75 %
  • 30-39: 0.0 %
  • 40-49: 0.0 %
  • 50-59: 0.0 %
  • 60+: 0.0 %

What are other drugs people take besides Accutane? *

  1. Xanax: 3 people, 15.00%
  2. Ritalin: 3 people, 15.00%
  3. Paxil: 3 people, 15.00%
  4. Claritin: 3 people, 15.00%
  5. Ortho Tri-Cyclen: 2 people, 10.00%

What are other side effects people have besides Anorexia nervosa? *

  1. Weight Decreased: 8 people, 40.00%
  2. Depression: 6 people, 30.00%
  3. Nausea (feeling of having an urge to vomit): 4 people, 20.00%
  4. Lymph Follicular Hypertrophy (an increase in the size of the lymph node follicles): 3 people, 15.00%
  5. Diabetes Insipidus (diabetes caused by a deficiency of the pituitary hormone vasopressin, which regulates kidney function): 3 people, 15.00%
  6. Depression Aggravated: 3 people, 15.00%
  7. Constipation: 3 people, 15.00%
  8. Protein Total Increased: 2 people, 10.00%
  9. Chills (felling of cold): 2 people, 10.00%
  10. Abdominal Pain Lower: 2 people, 10.00%

* Approximation only. Some reports may have incomplete information.

Do you take Accutane and have Anorexia nervosa?

- Check whether Anorexia nervosa is associated with a drug or a condition
- Predict drug outcomes for up to one year with AI
- Get an AI agent to monitor your drugs continuously



Related studies:

Effectiveness of, long term effects of, and alternative drugs to Accutane:

Anorexia nervosa treatments and more:

How severe was Anorexia nervosa and when was it recovered:

Expand to all the drugs that have ingredients of isotretinoin:

Sub-studies by gender and age:

Female: 0-1 2-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

Male: 0-1 2-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

Browse all side effects of Accutane:

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Browse all the drugs that are associated with Anorexia nervosa:

Browse all the conditions that are associated with Anorexia nervosa:

Related publications that referenced our studies


How the study uses the data?

The study uses data from the FDA. It is based on isotretinoin (the active ingredients of Accutane) and Accutane (the brand name). Other drugs that have the same active ingredients (e.g. generic drugs) are not considered. Dosage of drugs is not considered in the study.

How to use the study?

DO NOT STOP MEDICATIONS without first consulting your doctor. If there are any serious or long term adverse effects discovered in the study, discuss the study with your doctor to ensure that proper medication management will be in place if applicable.

Who is eHealthMe?

With medical big data and proven AI/ML algorithms, eHealthMe provides a platform for everyone to run phase IV clinical trials. We study millions of patients and 5,000 more each day. Results of our real-world drug study have been referenced on 800+ peer-reviewed medical publications, including The Lancet, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, and Nature. Our analysis results are available to researchers, health care professionals, patients (testimonials), and software developers (open API).

WARNING, DISCLAIMER, USE FOR PUBLICATION

WARNING: Please DO NOT STOP MEDICATIONS without first consulting a physician since doing so could be hazardous to your health.

DISCLAIMER: All material available on eHealthMe.com is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment provided by a qualified healthcare provider. All information is observation-only. Our phase IV clinical studies alone cannot establish cause-effect relationship. Different individuals may respond to medication in different ways. Every effort has been made to ensure that all information is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. The use of the eHealthMe site and its content is at your own risk.

If you use this eHealthMe study on publication, please acknowledge it with a citation: study title, URL, accessed date.



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