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Nisticò V, Ingrosso G, Lombardi F, Chiudinelli E, Bianchini G, Faggioli R, Bertani A, Gambini O, Demartini B. Autistic traits, sensory sensitivity and eating disturbances in a sample of young adults referring to a generalized mental health clinic. Eat Weight Disord 2024; 29:10. [PMID: 38261082 PMCID: PMC10806192 DOI: 10.1007/s40519-024-01639-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE The relationship between autistic traits and eating disturbances has been given considerable attention over the last decades. The rise of a dimensional approach to psychopathology has expanded the way we think about autism, acknowledging that subthreshold autistic manifestations span across the general population and are more pronounced in psychiatric patients. Here we investigated the prevalence of eating disorders and its potential relationship with autistic traits and sensory sensitivity in a group of patients who were referred for the first time to a mental health outpatient clinic, without a formal diagnosis yet. METHODS 259 young adults (between 18 and 24 years old) completed: the Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26), the Swedish Eating Assessment for Autism Spectrum Disorders (SWEAA), the Autism Quotient (AQ), the Ritvo Autism Asperger Diagnostic Scale-Revised (RAADS-R), and the Sensory Perception Quotient-Short Form 35 item (SPQ-SF35). RESULTS 23.55% of participants scored above the cut-off at the EAT-26, suggesting that they presented a risk for eating disorders and should be assessed by a specialized clinician; associations emerged between hypersensitivity in the touch and vision domain and both the EAT-26 and the SWEAA; the presence of autistic traits was largely associated with eating disturbances. CONCLUSIONS This study underlines the significance of the eating domain as a central psychopathological feature in the distress experienced by young adults with general psychiatric symptoms and psychological suffering; it adds evidence to the association between autistic traits and eating disorders and opens to new research questions about the role of subthreshold autistic traits in general psychopathology. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level I: Evidence obtained from experimental studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronica Nisticò
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Presidio San Paolo, via A. Di Rudinì, 8, 20142, Milano, Italy.
- "Aldo Ravelli" Research Center for Neurotechnology and Experimental Brain Therapeutics, University of Milan, Milano, Italy.
- Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy.
| | - Gianmarco Ingrosso
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Presidio San Paolo, via A. Di Rudinì, 8, 20142, Milano, Italy
| | - Francesco Lombardi
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Presidio San Paolo, via A. Di Rudinì, 8, 20142, Milano, Italy
| | - Elia Chiudinelli
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Presidio San Paolo, via A. Di Rudinì, 8, 20142, Milano, Italy
| | - Giulia Bianchini
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Presidio San Paolo, via A. Di Rudinì, 8, 20142, Milano, Italy
| | - Raffaella Faggioli
- Unità di Psichiatria 51 e 52, Presidio San Paolo, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, Milan, Italy
| | - Angelo Bertani
- Unità di Psichiatria 51 e 52, Presidio San Paolo, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, Milan, Italy
- Dipartimento Salute Mentale e Dipendenze, Centro Giovani "Ettore Ponti", ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, Milan, Italy
| | - Orsola Gambini
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Presidio San Paolo, via A. Di Rudinì, 8, 20142, Milano, Italy
- "Aldo Ravelli" Research Center for Neurotechnology and Experimental Brain Therapeutics, University of Milan, Milano, Italy
- Unità di Psichiatria 51 e 52, Presidio San Paolo, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, Milan, Italy
| | - Benedetta Demartini
- "Aldo Ravelli" Research Center for Neurotechnology and Experimental Brain Therapeutics, University of Milan, Milano, Italy
- Unità di Psichiatria 51 e 52, Presidio San Paolo, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, Milan, Italy
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