Are eating disorders associated with bipolar disorder type I? Results of a Lebanese case-control study

Associations between major depressive and bipolar disorders and eating disorder, PTSD, and comorbid symptom severity in eating disorder patients

OBJECTIVE

Major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) are commonly comorbid with eating disorders (EDs). However, there is limited data about the clinical features of such patients, especially their association with traumatic histories and PTSD, which occur commonly in patients admitted to residential treatment.

METHODS

Adults (≥18 years, 91% female, n = 2155) admitted to residential ED treatment were evaluated upon admission for DSM-5 defined MDD and BD. Patients were divided into three groups based on an admission diagnosis of no mood disorder (NMD), MDD, and BD (types I and II) and compared on a number of demographic variables, clinical features and assessments.

RESULTS

Mood disorders occurred in 76.4% of participants. There were statistically significant differences across groups in most measures with the BD group showing higher rates and doses of traumatic events; higher current PTSD; higher BMIs; higher severity of ED, depression and state-trait anxiety symptoms; worse quality of life; and higher rates of substance use disorders. Similarly, the MDD group had higher rates than the NMD group on most measures.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings have important implications for prevention, treatment and long-term follow-up and highlight the need for early trauma-focused treatment of ED patients with comorbid mood disorders and PTSD.

Prevalence of eating disorders in patients with bipolar disorder: a scoping review of the literature

BACKGROUND

Eating disorder (ED) and bipolar disorder (BD) exhibit certain phenomenological similarities rooted in eating behavior and emotional regulation. However, despite the growing body of research on the comorbidity of ED and BD, scientific data on the concurrent course of these disorders has remained poorly systematized.

AIM

To conduct a scoping review of published data on the prevalence of various types of ED among patients with BD types I and II in the context of the sex and clinical features of the concurrent course of these disorders.

METHODS

The analysis was reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews. The search was conducted in the MEDLINE electronic database. Studies were included if they were focused samples of patients diagnosed with BD and ED, and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth and fifth editions (DSM-IV, DSM-5), or International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, tenth Revision (ICD-10), were used for the verification of the ED and BD diagnoses. The descriptive analysis method was used to summarize the review findings.

RESULTS

A total of 41 studies were selected for the review. Lifetime ED in patients with BD ranged from 2.2% to 31.1%, and the prevalence rates of BD among patients with ED varied from 11.3% to 68.1%. ED nominally had a higher prevalence among individuals with BD type II and females. Additionally, the presence of ED in patients with BD was associated with earlier onset of mood disorder, a higher number of depressive episodes, higher levels of atypical depressive symptoms, suicide attempts, as well as a higher frequency of comorbid obsessive-compulsive and anxiety disorders, addictions, and various metabolic disorders.

CONCLUSION

Despite the high degree of volatility in the results, the prevalence rates of a concurrent course of ED and BD are rather high. For this reason, screening for ED in patients with BD and vice versa holds significant value in the accurate diagnosis and selection of the most effective therapy. The patterns of comorbidity among different types of ED and BD, depending on gender, need further exploration in future research.

Maladaptive Cognitive Schemas as Predictors of Disordered Eating: Examining the Indirect Pathway through Emotion Regulation Difficulties

A scarcity of research has looked into the association of maladaptive core beliefs with dysfunctional eating patterns. Moreover, no prior study has considered the potential role of difficulties in negative emotion regulation when disentangling the complex correlations between early maladaptive schemas and disturbed eating habits. Our study aimed at exploring the distinct relationships between early maladaptive schemas and disordered eating, while investigating the indirect role of emotion regulation difficulties within these associations. We collected data from 982 Lebanese young adults (18-30 years old), distributed across the five Lebanese governorates, who completed the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), the Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form 3 (YSQ-SF3), and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-16 Item Version (DERS-16). The results showed that the disconnection and rejection schema domain, under which the early maladaptive schema of mistrust was the most predictive of disordered/inappropriate eating attitudes. All the remaining maladaptive schema domains (i.e., the impaired autonomy/performance, impaired limits, other-directedness, and overvigilance/inhibition schema domains) exerted significant indirect effects on disordered eating attitudes through difficulties in emotion regulation. Our findings gave prominence to a potential intrinsic mechanism through which maladaptive cognitive schemas are linked to disordered eating behaviors, emphasizing the role of emotion dysregulation as a cardinal actor within this model. They sustain the surmise that cognitively and emotionally vulnerable individuals exhibit stronger propensities for inappropriate dietary patterns, as a means to offset their inner weakness. This study broadens the medical community's insights into the underpinning processes behind eating disorder psychopathology and could therefore make a step towards the adoption of innovative therapeutic approaches that promote emotion regulation skills in the context of schema therapy.

Association of insomnia with mania in Lebanese patients with bipolar disorder

OBJECTIVE

To assess: (1) the association between insomnia experienced at admission, sociodemographic and other patients' characteristics and mania; and (2) the variation of insomnia and mania before and after treatment in bipolar patients with manic episodes (type I).

METHODS

Sixty-two patients were interviewed shortly after their admission to the hospital (after 3 to 5 days). The current symptoms experienced by the patients were assessed upon admission and again at discharge from the hospital.

RESULTS

A poorer quality of sleep (higher PSQI scores) (Beta=0.590) was significantly associated with higher mania, whereas the intake of SSRIs (Beta=-5.952) and TCAs (Beta=-8.181) was significantly associated with lower mania. Furthermore, highly significant reductions were reported in the PSQI scores (4.96 vs. 2.75, P<0.001), ISI scores (8.30 vs. 3.45, P<0.001) and YMRS scores (8.60 vs. 3.06, P<0.001) between admission to and discharge from the hospital.

CONCLUSION

Insomnia in patients with bipolar disorder type I is associated with mania, with a significant reduction of sleep problems seen during a period of approximately 20 days of hospitalization. Further longitudinal studies are needed to confirm the validity of our results and identify the causes. In the meantime, this research recommends a strategy to improve sleeplessness experienced during inter-episode phases may be helpful in preventing manic episodes in BD.