Trastornos de la conducta alimentaria en adolescentes: descripción y manejo

An update on the underlying risk factors of eating disorders onset during adolescence: a systematic review

Introduction

Eating disorders (EDs) are serious psychological problems that affect not only the individual, but also their entire environment. The prevalence rates of EDs are higher among the adolescent population. A better understanding of ED risk factors is essential to design effective prevention and intervention programs that focus beyond the areas of weight and appearance.

Methods

The main objective of this systematic review was to identify the risk factors of EDs and provide a comprehensive approach, analyzing the interplay between individuals, their inner circle, and the society characteristics. The Web of Science, Scopus, CENTRAL and PsycInfo databases were searched.

Results

The initial search produced 8,178 references. After removing duplicates and performing the selection process by three independent reviewers, 42 articles were included in the systematic review according to the pre-specified inclusion criteria. The results suggest the relevance of society and the inner circle on the development of EDs.

Discussion

The internalization of the thin ideal, promoted by the current society, and living in an unsupportive, unaffectionate, non-cohesive environment were associated with the onset of EDs symptomatology. Other associated variables with this ED indicator were poor-quality relationships and feeling judged about appearance. These aspects seem to be essential for the development of individual characteristics like self-esteem or adaptative coping during adolescence. This systematic review has shown the complex etiology of EDs and the relevance of the interplay between the different areas involved. Furthermore, this information could be relevant to improve the design of innovative and more effective prevention and intervention programs.

Systematic review registration

PROSPERO, identifier CRD42022320881.

Family connections in the treatment of relatives of people with eating disorders and personality disorders: study protocol of a randomized control trial

BACKGROUND

Eating disorders (EDs) are serious disorders that significantly affect not only the lives of patients, but also those of their family members who often experience high levels of burden, suffering and helplessness. If, in addition to ED, the patient has a personality disorder (PD), the psychological distress experienced by family members can be devastating. However, few treatments have been developed for family members of people with ED and PD. Family Connections (FC) is a programme that has been shown to be effective for family members of people with borderline personality disorder. The overall aims of this work are: (a) to adapt FC for application to family members of patients with BPD-PD (FC: ED-PD); (b) to analyse, in a randomised controlled clinical trial, the efficacy of this programme in a Spanish population, compared to a control condition consisting of treatment as usual optimised treatment (TAU-O); (c) to analyse the feasibility of the intervention protocol; (d) to analyse whether the changes that may occur in relatives are related to improvements in the family climate and/or improvements observed in patients; and (e) to analyse the perceptions and opinions of relatives and patients about the two intervention protocols.

METHODS

The study uses a two-arm randomised controlled clinical trial with two experimental conditions: adaptation of FC programme (FC: ED-PD) or Treatment as usual optimised (TAU-O). Participants will be family members of patients who meet DSM-5 criteria for ED and PD or dysfunctional personality traits. Participants will be assessed before and after treatment and at one-year follow-up. The intention-to-treat principle will be used when analysing the data.

DISCUSSION

The results obtained are expected to confirm the effectiveness of the programme and its good acceptance by family members. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05404035. Accepted: May 2022.

El respeto de la autonomía como elemento fundamental en el tratamiento ético de los trastornos de la conducta alimentaria

Cuando se habla de trastornos de la conducta alimentaria, es usual pensar en las problemáticas médicas o psicológicas que implican este tipo de patologías. Sin embargo, no se puede negar que estas problemáticas vienen acompañadas de múltiples implicaciones sociales y personales por parte del individuo que se ve afectado, así como de los profesionales de la salud que participan en todo el proceso de atención. Por ende, el objetivo de este artículo es reflexionar sobre la necesidad de hacer un análisis ampliado de la realidad personal y social al momento de atender a pacientes con este tipo de trastornos. Para ello, es fundamental ver más allá de la simple patología médica y procurar que se respete siempre el principio de autonomía como piedra angular de la relación existente entre el médico y el paciente. Como conclusión, se busca que el profesional de la salud que interviene en procesos médicos relacionados con trastornos de la conducta alimentaria considere que la salud del paciente no solo consiste en superar el trastorno, sino también en el estado de bienestar durante el proceso terapéutico y sus implicaciones.

Risk eating behaviors, perception of parental practices and assertive behaviors in high school students

Background: Late adolescence is considered a risk stage for psychological health. The objective of this research was evaluating the association among risk eating behaviors (REB), parental practices and assertive behavior in high school students according to sex. Method: With a non-experimental design and transversal study participated 200 students (104 men and 96 women) from a public high school with age mean of 16.52 (SD = 1.05 years), who after signing informed consent fulfilled the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT), the Scale of Parental Practices for Adolescents (PP-A) which has nine subscales, four towards the father (PPf) and five towards the mother (PPm) and the Assertive Behavior Scale (CABS), all of them validated for Mexican population. Results: Differential associations were found according to sex: in women, EAT-26-Total was associated with CABS-Total, parental Communication, maternal Imposition and maternal Psychological Control (rs = -.36, .25, -.28, -.36, respectively); but in men, was only associated with parental Imposition (rs = -.30). The CABS-Total was associated with all PPm subscales in women (range rs = .22 to .36) and in men only with Communication, Psychological and Behavioral Control (rs = .30 .35, -.23). Conclusion: The high school students –women to a greater degree– higher REB greater aggressive style (no assertiveness), greater maternal psychological control and less maternal behavioral control.

Motivo de abandono del tratamiento desde la perspectiva del paciente con un trastorno de la conducta alimentaria

Los tratamientos psicológicos y farmacológicos para los trastornos de la conducta alimentaria comportan costes personales y sanitarios. El propósito de nuestro estudio ha sido identificar los diferentes motivos que pueden estar asociados al abandono en ambos tipos de tratamientos en pacientes diagnosticados de un trastorno de la conducta alimentaria. Método: Se examinaron diversas características (edad, sexo, diagnóstico, motivos y tipos de abandono, y satisfacción respecto a la unidad de trastornos de la conducta alimentaria) en 212 pacientes atendidos en un servicio especializado en el tratamiento de trastornos de la conducta alimentaria durante un periodo de dos años. Resultados: Nuestros datos apoyan la hipótesis de que la causa de abandono de los tratamientos más frecuente ha sido la mejoría del trastorno de la conducta alimentaria. Conclusiones: Nuestros resultados indican que los motivos de abandono son heterogéneos. Se pueden establecer dos perfiles diferenciados de abandonos, uno ligado a la mejoría y a los impedimentos físicos temporales, y otro relacionado con motivos diversos.