The 31-year-old weighed 4.7 stone
A young woman from Ealing described as being one of 'the worst' cases of anorexia doctors had ever seen, has died.
An inquest heard that Kate Chilver, 31, developed symptoms when she was twelve and spent the rest of her life in specialist medical units until eventually dying from anorexia nervosa. She weighed just 4.7 stone.
Dr Frances Connan, a consultant psychologist who treated her at Vincent Square Clinic in south west London, said:
'I’d known Kate since her referral to our service in 2004.
'She had onset anorexia from the age of about 12, her first admission just before she was 15.
'She had the most severe illness of patient I have ever come across.
'At times her BMI went down as low as 9. It’s extremely rare to see a BMI of less than 10.'
Doctors fed her through a tube in a bid to boost her health but all attempts failed.
Recording a death of natural causes due to anorexia nervosa, Coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox said: 'Dr Connan described her as the most unwell patient she had ever treated.'
Anorexia is the leading cause of mental health-related deaths and Miss Chilver was sectioned under the mental health act, and remained so until the time of her death.
One in every 200 women and one in every 2,000 men is affected and around 5 per cent of sufferers will die from complications caused by malnutrition.
15th December 2011
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