Association of binge eating behavior and psychiatric comorbidity in ELSA-Brasil study: Results from baseline data

Longitudinal association between binge eating and metabolic syndrome in adults: Findings from the ELSA-Brasil cohort

OBJECTIVE

Individuals with bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder have greater cardiovascular morbidity than the general population. Longitudinal research on the association between binge eating and metabolic syndrome is limited. We tested the longitudinal association between binge eating and metabolic syndrome and its components in a large population sample of Brazilian adults.

METHODS

We used data from Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil, N = 15,105). To test for the association between binge eating at baseline (2008-2010) and metabolic syndrome at follow-up (2012-2014), we used univariable and multivariable logistic regression models progressively adjusting for potential socio-demographic confounders, number of metabolic syndrome components, and body mass index (BMI) at baseline.

RESULTS

In total, 13,388 participants (54.8% female; 52.2% white) had complete data on all variables of interest. Binge eating was associated with increased odds of metabolic syndrome at follow-up (odds ratio (OR):1.66, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.44, 1.75). However, the size of this association was attenuated after including number of metabolic syndrome components at baseline (OR:1.19, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.35) and was no longer present after adjusting for baseline BMI (OR:1.09, 95% CI: 0.96, 1.25). Binge eating was also associated with higher odds of hypertension (OR:1.14, 95% CI: 0.99, 1.37) and hypertriglyceridemia (OR:1.21, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.37) at the follow-up assessment after adjustment for all confounders.

CONCLUSIONS

Individuals who binge eat are at increased risk of metabolic syndrome via increased BMI, and of hypertriglyceridemia and hypertension independently of BMI. If these are causal associations, effective interventions for binge eating could also have beneficial effects on metabolic health outcomes.

Impact of binge eating during pregnancy on gestational weight gain and postpartum weight retention among women with gestational diabetes mellitus: LINDA-Brasil

OBJECTIVE

Binge eating (BE) is associated with gestational weight gain, which is a risk factor for gestational diabetes (GDM). Little is known about this association in women with GDM. To evaluate the relationship of BE in pregnancy with gestational weight gain, BE at postpartum and postpartum weight retention in women with GDM.

METHOD

Lifestyle INtervention for Diabetes prevention After pregnancy (LINDA-Brasil) is a multicenter cohort study with 1,958 women with GDM. BE was assessed by interview during recruitment in pregnancy and at a phone interview at ~4 months postpartum. Gestational weight gain was classified according to the 2009 Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations. Poisson regression with robust variance was used to estimate adjusted relative risks (RR).

RESULTS

Prevalence of BE was 31.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 29.5-33.6%) during pregnancy and 30.0% (95% CI 28.0-32.1%) at postpartum. The risk of exceeding the IOM's recommendation for gestational weight gain was 45% higher (RR 1.45, 95% CI 1.29-1.63) in women who had BE during pregnancy compared to those who did not. The risk of having postpartum weight retention above the 75th percentile was 33% higher (RR 1.33, 95% CI 1.10-1.59) among those with BE compared to those without.

DISCUSSION

Among these women with GDM, BE was frequent and was associated with excessive gestational weight gain and weight retention at postpartum. Thus, given the vulnerability of these periods of the life cycle, tracking this eating behavior is important for the management of gestational weight gain and for the prevention of excessive postpartum retention.