scholarly journals Gender differences in symptom presentation and treatment outcome in children and youths with eating disorders

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer S. Coelho ◽  
Janet Suen ◽  
Sheila Marshall ◽  
Alex Burns ◽  
Josie Geller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Eating Pathology ◽  
The Body ◽  
Symptom Presentation ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Eating Disorder Symptom ◽  
Eating Disorder Symptoms ◽  
Disorder Symptom

Abstract Background To address the gaps in the literature examining eating disorders among males and gender minority youths, a prospective study was designed to assess gender differences in eating disorder symptom presentation and outcomes. Muscularity concerns may be particularly relevant for male youths with eating disorders, and were included in assessment of eating disorder symptom presentation. Methods All cisgender male youths who presented for specialized eating disorder treatment at one of two sites were invited to participate, along with a group of matched cisgender females, and all youths who did not identify with the sex assigned to them at birth. Youths completed measures of eating disorder symptoms, including muscularity concerns, and other psychiatric symptoms at baseline and end of treatment. Results A total of 27 males, 28 females and 6 trans youths took part in the study. At baseline, Kruskal–Wallis tests demonstrated that trans youths reported higher scores than cisgender male and female youths on measures of eating pathology (Eating disorder examination-questionnaire (EDE-Q) and the body fat subscale of the male body attitudes scale (MBAS)). These analyses demonstrated that there were no differences between cisgender male and female youths on eating disorder symptoms at baseline. However, repeated measures ANOVA demonstrated that males had greater decreases in eating pathology at discharge than did females, based on self-reported scores on the EDE-Q, MBAS, and Body Change Inventory. Conclusions Gender differences in eating pathology appeared at baseline, with trans youths reporting higher levels of eating pathology than cisgender youths, though no differences between cisgender males and females emerged at baseline for eating disorder symptom presentation. Contrary to expectations, there were no gender differences in measures of muscularity concerns. Males demonstrated greater eating disorder symptom improvements than females, suggesting that male adolescents may have better treatment outcomes than females in some domains.

scholarly journals Gender Differences in Symptom Presentation and Treatment Outcome in Children and Youths With Eating Disorders

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer S. Coelho ◽  
Janet Suen ◽  
Sheila Marshall ◽  
Alex Burns ◽  
Josie Geller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Eating Pathology ◽  
The Body ◽  
Symptom Presentation ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Eating Disorder Symptom ◽  
Eating Disorder Symptoms ◽  
Disorder Symptom

Abstract Background. To address the gaps in the literature examining eating disorders among males and gender minority youths, a prospective study was designed to assess gender differences in eating disorder symptom presentation and outcomes. Muscularity concerns may be particularly relevant for male youths with eating disorders, and were included in assessment of eating disorder symptom presentation. Methods. All male youths who presented for specialized eating disorder treatment at one of two sites were invited to participate, along with a group of matched females, and all youths who did not identify with the sex assigned to them at birth. Youths completed measures of eating disorder symptoms, including muscularity concerns, and other psychiatric symptoms at baseline and end of treatment.Results. A total of 27 males, 28 females and 6 trans youths took part in the study. At baseline, Kruskal-Wallis tests demonstrated that trans youths reported higher scores than cisgender male and female youths on measures of eating pathology (Eating Disorder Examination – Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and the body fat subscale of the Male Body Attitudes Scale (MBAS)). These analyses demonstrated that there were no differences between cisgender male and female youths on eating disorder symptoms at baseline. However, repeated measures ANOVA demonstrated that males had greater decreases than did females in eating pathology at discharge than did females, based on self-reported scores on the EDE-Q, MBAS, and Body Change Inventory. Conclusions. Gender differences in eating pathology appeared at baseline, with trans youths reporting higher levels of eating pathology than cisgender youths, though no differences between cisgender males and females emerged at baseline for eating disorder symptom presentation. Contrary to expectations, there were no gender differences in measures of muscularity concerns. Males demonstrated greater eating disorder symptom improvements than females, suggesting that male adolescents may have better treatment outcomes than females in some domains.

Assessing Prevalence of Eating Disorders and Eating Disorder Symptoms Among Lightweight and Open Weight Collegiate Rowers

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 198-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer I. Gapin ◽  
Brianna Kearns
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Eating Behaviors ◽  
Eating Pathology ◽  
Drive For Thinness ◽  
Prevalence Rates ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Eating Disorder Symptoms ◽  
Dsm Iv ◽  
Ongoing Monitoring

Athletes in sports with weight requirements may be especially vulnerable to eating disorders (EDs), yet there is limited research regarding collegiate rowers. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine prevalence rates of ED symptoms in 133 male and female competitive collegiate rowers in lightweight and open weight programs. This is the first study to examine eating pathology in rowers using a diagnostic tool based on DSM-IV criteria, the Q-EDD; and examining ED symptoms using the EDI-2 (drive for thinness [DT] and body dissatisfaction [BD]). The majority of rowers were classified as symptomatic (n = 65; 49%) or clinical (n = 5; 4%). Lightweight rowers had a significantly higher prevalence of eating pathology and a significantly greater DT and BD than open weight rowers. Males had considerably higher prevalence of eating pathology than females, but females had significantly greater BD. Ongoing monitoring of rowers’ eating behaviors is highly encouraged. Implications for counseling and prevention are discussed.

scholarly journals Longitudinal experiences and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic among people with past or current eating disorders in Sweden

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Birgegård ◽  
Afrouz Abbaspour ◽  
Stina Borg ◽  
David Clinton ◽  
Emma Forsén Mantilla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
List Type ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Eating Disorder Symptom ◽  
Disorder Symptom ◽  
Evidence Based Care ◽  
The Impact

AbstractObjectiveTo document the impact of the COVI-19 pandemic on the health and well-being of individuals with past and current eating disorders in Sweden.MethodWe re-contacted participants from two previous Swedish studies who had a known lifetime history of an eating disorder. Participants completed an online questionnaire about their health and functioning at baseline early in the pandemic (Wave 1; N=982) and six months later (Wave 2); N=646).ResultsThree important patterns emerged: 1) higher current eating disorder symptom levels were associated with greater anxiety, worry, and pandemic-related eating disorder symptom increase; 2) patterns were fairly stable across time, although a concerning number who reported being symptom-free at Wave 1 reported re-emergence of symptoms at Wave 2; and only a minority of participants with current eating disorders were in treatment, and of those who were in treatment, many reported fewer treatment sessions than pre-pandemic and decreased quality of care.ConclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic is posing serious health challenges for individuals with eating disorders, whether currently symptomatic or in remission. We encourage health service providers and patient advocates to be alert to the needs of individuals with eating disorders and to take active measures to ensure access to appropriate evidence-based care both during and following the pandemic.Significant Outcomes and LimitationsIndividuals with eating disorders symptoms or current active disorder report higher adverse impact of COVID-19 on their mental healthEven individuals who were symptom-free early in the pandemic reported a resurgence of eating disorder symptomsA large proportion of symptomatic individuals were not in treatment for their eating disorder, services should be aware and access to evidence-based care should be ensured across SwedenLimitations included the use of a convenience sample with atypical diagnostic distribution, and a low initial response rate, possibly introducing bias and limiting generalisability.Data Availability StatementFully anonymized data are available from the corresponding author upon request.

Relationships Among Childhood Maltreatment, Limbic System Dysfunction, and Eating Disorders in College Women

2020 ◽  
pp. 088626052091259
Author(s):  
Andrea E. Mercurio ◽  
Fang Hong ◽  
Carolyn Amir ◽  
Amanda R. Tarullo ◽  
Anna Samkavitz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
College Women ◽  
Limbic System ◽  
Indirect Effect ◽  
Childhood Maltreatment ◽  
Eating Pathology ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Eating Disorder Symptoms

The mechanisms linking childhood maltreatment and eating pathology are not fully understood. We examined the mediating role of limbic system dysfunction in the relationships between three forms of childhood maltreatment (parental psychological maltreatment, parental physical maltreatment, and parental emotional neglect) and eating disorder symptoms. A convenience sample of college women ( N = 246, M age = 19.62, SD = 2.41) completed measures of maltreatment (Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scales and the Parental Bonding Instrument), limbic system dysfunction (Limbic System Questionnaire), and eating pathology (Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire). We hypothesized that there would be an indirect effect of each type of childhood maltreatment on eating disorder symptoms via limbic system irritability. Results generally supported the hypotheses. Examination of the individual paths that defined the indirect effect indicated that higher reported childhood maltreatment was associated with greater limbic irritability symptoms, and higher limbic irritability symptomatology was related to higher total eating disorder scores. There were no significant direct effects for any of the proposed models. Findings are in line with research supporting the role of limbic system dysfunction as a possible pathway in the maltreatment-eating disorder link. Given that limbic system dysfunction may underlie behavioral symptoms of eating disorders, efforts targeting limbic system dysfunction associated with child maltreatment might best be undertaken at an early developmental stage, although interventions for college women struggling with eating disorders are also crucial.

scholarly journals Comparing a Tailored Self-Help Mobile App With a Standard Self-Monitoring App for the Treatment of Eating Disorder Symptoms: Randomized Controlled Trial

10.2196/14972 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
pp. e14972 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenna Tregarthen ◽  
Jane Paik Kim ◽  
Shiri Sadeh-Sharvit ◽  
Eric Neri ◽  
Hannah Welch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Traditional Treatment ◽  
Eating Disorder Symptoms ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Self Help ◽  
Disorder Symptom

Background Eating disorders severely impact psychological, physical, and social functioning, and yet, the majority of individuals with eating disorders do not receive treatment. Mobile health apps have the potential to decrease access barriers to care and reach individuals who have been underserved by traditional treatment modalities. Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a tailored, fully automated self-help version of Recovery Record, an app developed for eating disorders management. We examined differences in eastin disorder symptom change in app users that were randomized to receive either a standard, cognitive behavioral therapy–based version of the app or a tailored version that included algorithmically determined clinical content aligned with baseline and evolving user eating disorder symptom profiles. Methods Participants were people with eating disorder symptoms who did not have access to traditional treatment options and were recruited via the open-access Recovery Record app to participate in this randomized controlled trial. We examined both continuous and categorical clinical improvement outcomes (measured with the self-report Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire [EDE-Q]) in both intervention groups. Results Between December 2016 and August 2018, 3294 Recovery Record app users were recruited into the study, out of which 959 were considered engaged, completed follow-up assessments, and were included in the analyses. Both study groups achieved significant overall outcome improvement, with 61.6% (180/292) of the tailored group and 55.4% (158/285) of the standard group achieving a clinically meaningful change in the EDE-Q, on average. There were no statistically significant differences between randomized groups for continuous outcomes, but a pattern of improvement being greater in the tailored group was evident. The rate of remission on the EDE-Q at 8 weeks was significantly greater in the group receiving the tailored version (d=0.22; P≤.001). Conclusions This is the first report to compare the relative efficacy of two versions of a mobile app for eating disorders. The data suggest that underserved individuals with eating disorder symptoms may benefit clinically from a self-help app and that personalizing app content to specific clinical presentations may be more effective in promoting symptomatic remission on the EDE-Q than content that offers a generic approach. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02503098; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02503098.

Feeling Fat’ is Associated with Specific Eating Disorder Symptom Dimensions in Young Men and Women

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrienne Mehak ◽  
Sarah Elizabeth Racine
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Binge Eating ◽  
Eating Pathology ◽  
Clinical Population ◽  
Clinical Samples ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Symptom Dimensions ◽  
Eating Disorder Symptom ◽  
Disorder Symptom ◽  
Mixed Gender

Purpose: ‘Feeling fat,’ the somatic experience of having excess body weight that is not fully explained by true adiposity, correlates with eating pathology in clinical and non-clinical samples. It is unknown whether ‘feeling fat’ more strongly relates to specific eating disorder symptom dimensions that typically characterize anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and/or binge eating disorder. Understanding the significance of ‘feeling fat’s relationship with specific eating disorder symptom dimensions - cognitive restraint, dietary restriction, binge eating, and purging - may suggest its relevance to particular forms of eating pathology and elucidate treatment directions for addressing ‘feeling fat’. Methods: Questionnaires were completed by 989 undergraduates (54.3% female). Results: Path analyses indicated significant associations between feeling fat and all symptom dimensions; these paths were not moderated by gender. The best fitting model was the model including paths from ‘feeling fat’ to all symptom dimensions; no other model had equivalent fit. Conclusion: ‘Feeling fat’ relates to all examined symptoms of eating disorders in a mixed-gender non-clinical population. These results indicate that ‘feeling fat’ is associated with multiple core symptoms of eating pathology, pointing to ‘feeling fat’s significance to eating pathology maintenance across the spectrum of eating pathology. Future research should compare the influence of ‘feeling fat’ on these symptoms in mixed-gender clinical samples.

Dieting and the Eating Disorders

2010 ◽  
pp. 147-179
Author(s):  
Eric Stice ◽  
Katherine Presnell
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Weight Loss ◽  
Risk Factor ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Dietary Restraint ◽  
Weight Maintenance ◽  
Eating Pathology ◽  
Eating Disorder Symptoms ◽  
Causal Risk Factor

This chapter reviews theory and empirical evidence linking dietary restraint to eating pathology. Although prospective studies suggest that dieting increases risk for future onset of eating pathology, experiments suggest that assignment to weight loss and weight maintenance diets reduces eating disorder symptoms. Because these two findings have opposing public health implications, this chapter also considers various explanations for these inconsistent findings. Our analysis suggests that dieting is not a causal risk factor for bulimic pathology, but rather may be a proxy risk factor. We posit that a tendency towards overeating may lead to both dieting and bulimic pathology, which seems to better account for the pattern of observed findings, and propose a number of studies that might help further resolve whether dietary restraint is causally related to the development of eating pathology.

scholarly journals Comparing a Tailored Self-Help Mobile App With a Standard Self-Monitoring App for the Treatment of Eating Disorder Symptoms: Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenna Tregarthen ◽  
Jane Paik Kim ◽  
Shiri Sadeh-Sharvit ◽  
Eric Neri ◽  
Hannah Welch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Traditional Treatment ◽  
Eating Disorder Symptoms ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Self Help ◽  
Disorder Symptom

BACKGROUND Eating disorders severely impact psychological, physical, and social functioning, and yet, the majority of individuals with eating disorders do not receive treatment. Mobile health apps have the potential to decrease access barriers to care and reach individuals who have been underserved by traditional treatment modalities. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a tailored, fully automated self-help version of <italic>Recovery Record</italic>, an app developed for eating disorders management. We examined differences in eastin disorder symptom change in app users that were randomized to receive either a standard, cognitive behavioral therapy–based version of the app or a tailored version that included algorithmically determined clinical content aligned with baseline and evolving user eating disorder symptom profiles. METHODS Participants were people with eating disorder symptoms who did not have access to traditional treatment options and were recruited via the open-access <italic>Recovery Record</italic> app to participate in this randomized controlled trial. We examined both continuous and categorical clinical improvement outcomes (measured with the self-report Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire [EDE-Q]) in both intervention groups. RESULTS Between December 2016 and August 2018, 3294 <italic>Recovery Record</italic> app users were recruited into the study, out of which 959 were considered engaged, completed follow-up assessments, and were included in the analyses. Both study groups achieved significant overall outcome improvement, with 61.6% (180/292) of the tailored group and 55.4% (158/285) of the standard group achieving a clinically meaningful change in the EDE-Q, on average. There were no statistically significant differences between randomized groups for continuous outcomes, but a pattern of improvement being greater in the tailored group was evident. The rate of remission on the EDE-Q at 8 weeks was significantly greater in the group receiving the tailored version (<italic>d</italic>=0.22; <italic>P</italic>≤.001). CONCLUSIONS This is the first report to compare the relative efficacy of two versions of a mobile app for eating disorders. The data suggest that underserved individuals with eating disorder symptoms may benefit clinically from a self-help app and that personalizing app content to specific clinical presentations may be more effective in promoting symptomatic remission on the EDE-Q than content that offers a generic approach. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02503098; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02503098.

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