SYNOPSISIn a retrospective case note study, 73 young females with anorexia nervosa were compared with 88 young females with affective psychosis. These groups of patients did not differ in terms of place of residence, birth order or social class. They differed very significantly, however, in terms of age at onset of symptoms, marital status, educational attainments and in the pattern of family histories of psychiatric illness. It is concluded that anorexics and young females with affective disorders are two quite distinct groups of patients.