psychiatric disorders
Rumination Disorder
Introduction
Rumination is repeated regurgitation of food after eating; the regurgitation does not involve nausea or retching and may be voluntary. (See also Introduction to Eating Disorders .) Patients with rumination disorder repeatedly regurgitate food after eating, but they have no nausea or involuntary retching. The food may be spit out or re-swallowed; some patients rechew the food before re-swallowing. Regurgitation occurs several times per week, typically daily. Regurgitation disorder may occur in infants, children, adolescents, or adults. The regurgitation can be intentional or unintentional and often can be directly observed by the clinician. Some patients are aware that the behavior is socially undesirable and attempt to disguise it by putting a hand over their mouth or limiting their food intake. Some avoid eating with other people and do not eat before a social activity or work so that they do not regurgitate in public. Patients who spit out the regurgitated material or who significantly limit their intake may lose weight or develop nutritional deficiencies. 