Dataset Information

A comparison of eating disorder symptomatology, psychological distress and psychosocial function between early, typical and later onset anorexia nervosa.

ABSTRACT: Objective: Epidemiological studies suggest that the incidence of anorexia nervosa (AN) is increasing in younger populations, with some evidence that clinical differences occur according to age of onset (AOO), which may impact prognostic outcomes. The current study sought to compare eating disorder (ED) symptomatology, psychological distress and psychosocial function between early onset (EO), typical onset (TO) and later onset (LO) AN in a large sample of treatment-seeking patients with a diagnosis of AN.

Methods: Participants included 249 individuals with a diagnosis of AN who were assessed at an outpatient ED service. The sample was divided into three groups based on AOO; those with an AOO ?14?years (N =?58) were termed 'EO-AN', those with an AOO between 15 and 18?years (N =?113) were termed 'TO-AN' and those with an AOO of >?18?years (N =?78) were termed 'LO-AN'. Comparisons were made between AOO groups on assessments of ED symptomatology, psychological distress and psychosocial function.

Results: EO-AN patients reported a significantly longer illness duration than both TO-AN and LO-AN groups. After controlling for effect of illness duration, the EO-AN group demonstrated significantly higher ED symptomatology and dysmorphic concern compared to the LO-AN group. The EO-AN group demonstrated significantly decreased cognitive flexibility compared to both the TO-AN and LO-AN groups.

Discussion: These findings suggest that clinical differences do occur according to AOO in AN whereby EO-AN may represent a more severe form of illness that is not attributable to increased illness duration. Treatment strategies which specifically address patients with EO-AN may improve long term health outcomes and recovery.

SUBMITTER: Jenkins ZM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7640671 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A comparison of eating disorder symptomatology, psychological distress and psychosocial function between early, typical and later onset anorexia nervosa.

Jenkins Zoe M ZM Chait Lior M LM Cistullo Leonardo L Castle David J DJ

Journal of eating disorders 20201104 1

<h4>Objective</h4>Epidemiological studies suggest that the incidence of anorexia nervosa (AN) is increasing in younger populations, with some evidence that clinical differences occur according to age of onset (AOO), which may impact prognostic outcomes. The current study sought to compare eating disorder (ED) symptomatology, psychological distress and psychosocial function between early onset (EO), typical onset (TO) and later onset (LO) AN in a large sample of treatment-seeking patients with a ...[more]

PMID: 33292580

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Project description:BackgroundEating disorders affect 13% of females and contribute to functional impairment and mortality, but few studies have identified risk factors that prospectively correlate with future onset of anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), binge eating disorder (BED), and purging disorder (PD). Identifying risk factors specific to each eating disorder is critical for advancing etiologic knowledge and designing effective prevention programs.ObjectivesThis study examined whether weight suppression (the difference between a person's highest past weight at their adult height and their current weight) correlates with future onset of AN, BN, BED, and PD.MethodsData from 1165 young women with body image concerns (mean ± SD age: 21.9 ± 6.4 y) who completed annual diagnostic interviews over a 3-y follow-up period were examined. Logistic regression models evaluated the relation of baseline weight suppression to onset risk of each eating disorder controlling for age, dietary restraint, and intervention condition.ResultsElevated weight suppression predicted future onset of AN (OR: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.80), BN (OR: 1.34; 95% CI: 1.11, 1.62), PD (OR: 1.46; 95% CI: 1.23, 1.74), and any eating disorder (OR: 1.32; 95% CI: 1.12, 1.56), but not BED (OR: 1.10; 95% CI: 0.89, 1.37). Highest past weight correlated with future onset of BN and PD but not onset of AN, BED, or any eating disorder, and baseline current weight was inversely related to future AN onset only, implying that women with the largest difference between their highest past weight and current weight are at greatest risk of eating disorders.ConclusionsThe results provide novel evidence that weight suppression correlates with future onset of eating disorders characterized by dietary restriction or compensatory weight control behaviors and suggest weight-suppressed women constitute an important risk group to target with selective prevention programs.These trials were registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01126918 and NCT01949649.

Project description:ObjectivesRecovery from anorexia nervosa (AN) is difficult to define, and efforts to establish recovery criteria have led to several versions being proposed. Using the perspectives of people with histories of AN and therapists working in the field, we sought to explore the face validity of Khalsa et al (2017) as one of the most recent examples of proposed systematic recovery criteria.DesignWe interviewed 11 health service users (SUs) with histories of AN who had previously received treatment alongside 8 eating disorder therapists (EDTs), exploring their views on the proposed AN recovery criteria.MethodsData from verbal and written interviews were analysed thematically. Separate thematic analyses of SU and EDT interviews highlighted where concerns converged and diverged across participants.ResultsBoth groups saw some merits of having universally recognized recovery criteria, and the multidimensional approach was welcomed, but EDTs were uncomfortable with considering their use in therapy and SUs felt key components were missing around emotional coping and life quality. SUs disliked the prominence of body mass index (BMI) in the criteria, and all struggled with the proposed duration for recovery. Conceptually, the notion of recovery as an endpoint rather than a journey was contested.ConclusionsOur findings indicate disparities between academically derived recovery criteria and lived experiences and indicate perceived challenges in using such criteria in therapeutic settings. Including SUs and EDTs in the development of criteria may improve the likelihood of consolidating AN recovery criteria, but conceptual challenges remain.Practitioner pointsAN recovery is complex, and the use of research-based AN recovery criteria in therapeutic settings could have a detrimental effect on SUs' outcomes. EDTs should be aware of efforts to define AN recovery criteria. EDTs should engage with debates on defining AN recovery and seek to promote participation in such debates to SUs.

Dataset Information

A comparison of eating disorder symptomatology, psychological distress and psychosocial function between early, typical and later onset anorexia nervosa.

Publications

A comparison of eating disorder symptomatology, psychological distress and psychosocial function between early, typical and later onset anorexia nervosa.

Similar Datasets

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