Past-Year Abuse and Eating Disorder Symptoms Among U.S. College Students

The role of sexual assault history and PTSD in responses to food intake among women with bulimic-spectrum eating disorders

Sexual abuse or assault (SA) history is associated with eating disorder severity and psychiatric comorbidity, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Beyond persistent alterations in mood and cognitions characterizing PTSD, PTSD due to SA may contribute to greater increases in negative affect and body image concerns following food intake in bulimic syndromes (BN-S). To test this, participants (n = 172) with BN-S who reported PTSD due to SA, PTSD due to other forms of trauma, or neither completed clinical interviews and momentary reports of negative affect and shape/weight preoccupation before and after food intake. Participants with PTSD, regardless of trauma source, reported higher purging frequency whereas PTSD due to SA was associated with more frequent loss of control eating. For one task, changes in negative affect following food intake differed across the three groups. Negative affect decreased significantly in participants with PTSD without SA whereas nonsignificant increases were observed in those with PTSD with SA. Results of the present study suggest that source of trauma in PTSD may impact likelihood that eating regulates affect and provide insight into ways current treatments may be adapted to better target purging in BN-S comorbid with PTSD.

Binge eating disorder

Binge eating disorder (BED) is characterized by regular binge eating episodes during which individuals ingest comparably large amounts of food and experience loss of control over their eating behaviour. The worldwide prevalence of BED for the years 2018-2020 is estimated to be 0.6-1.8% in adult women and 0.3-0.7% in adult men. BED is commonly associated with obesity and with somatic and mental health comorbidities. People with BED experience considerable burden and impairments in quality of life, and, at the same time, BED often goes undetected and untreated. The aetiology of BED is complex, including genetic and environmental factors as well as neuroendocrinological and neurobiological contributions. Neurobiological findings highlight impairments in reward processing, inhibitory control and emotion regulation in people with BED, and these neurobiological domains are targets for emerging treatment approaches. Psychotherapy is the first-line treatment for BED. Recognition and research on BED has increased since its inclusion into DSM-5; however, continuing efforts are needed to understand underlying mechanisms of BED and to improve prevention and treatment outcomes for this disorder. These efforts should also include screening, identification and implementation of evidence-based interventions in routine clinical practice settings such as primary care and mental health outpatient clinics.