Validation of the Disordered Eating Attitude Scale for adolescents

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

OBJECTIVES

To assess the association between disordered eating and bipolar disorder (BD).

METHODS/DESIGN

A case-control study, conducted between April and September 2018, enrolled 50 patients and 50 controls.

RESULTS

Higher eating attitude test scores were significantly associated with the presence of BD. This association remained after the introduction of other factors (marital status, family history of BD, shopping and gambling addictions, sleep quality, and insomnia severity) that were also associated with the presence of BD.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

This study suggested that eating disorders are associated with BD type I, independent of mediating factors. Health care providers should consider pharmacological or psychotherapeutic interventions that could treat both syndromes sparingly.

Latent profile analysis of exercise addiction symptoms in Brazilian adolescents: Association with health-related variables

BACKGROUND

The purpose of the present study is to identify profiles of adolescent exercisers based on exercise addiction symptoms (EA), and to examine differences in several health-related variables potentially related to EA across these profiles.

METHODS

A sample consisting of 618 adolescents, aged from 13 to 17 years, completed a questionnaire assessing EA, exercise characteristics (i.e., frequency and intensity of exercise), depression, body image (i.e., body appreciation and social physique anxiety), and disordered eating (i.e., concerns about eating and body weight gain as well as restrictive and compensatory practices).

RESULTS

The profile analysis identified three EA profiles, which were labelled: low-risk, high-risk with conflict and high-risk without conflict. Based on their scores for the health-related variables considered, the low-risk profile emerged as the least problematic; this increasing in the high-risk without conflict and even more so in the high-risk with conflict profiles. Nevertheless, individuals belonging to the high-risk without conflict profile showed similar body appreciation scores but lower social physique anxiety scores than those belonging to the low-risk profile.

LIMITATIONS

The study is limited by both its cross-sectional design and the self-reported nature of the collected data.

CONCLUSIONS

Conflict symptom may be relevant in explaining the differences in certain health-related variables between adolescents showing similarly high levels of EA.

Item Response Theory-based validation of a short form of the Disordered Eating Attitude Scale (DEAS-s) to a Brazilian sample

This study aimed to validate a short version of the Disordered Eating Attitude Scale (DEAS-s). To this end, 2,902 adult individuals answered the original DEAS and informed age, weight, and height. Data were analyzed using the full-information factor analysis and Item Response Theory (IRT) analysis. Exclusion criteria retained items with adequate values of commonality and factor loadings. Estimation of IRT parameters, the Item Characteristic Curve (ICC), and test information guided the selection of the best quality items. The final model adjustment was evaluated using Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA), Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMSR), Comparative Fit Index (CFI), and Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI). The eating attitudes on each level of DEAS-s were described. The analyses were performed on R software and Microsoft Excel version 2013. As results, six items were excluded because of the low communalities and factor loadings, and one more was excluded because of an overlapping on the ICC. The remaining 17 items explained 0.53 of the total variance and had an adequate goodness-of-fit (RMSEA = 0.05; SRMSR = 0.05; CFI = 0.98; TLI = 0.98). The information test is more accurate between the scores 0 and +3. Scores higher or equal to 1.5 identified individuals with disordered eating attitudes. Women, older individuals, and those with a higher body mass index presented more disordered eating; thus, the one-dimensional and short version of DEAS showed a suitable adjustment and may contribute to properly evaluate disordered eating in diverse populations.

Consumo de formulações emagrecedoras e risco de transtornos alimentares em universitários de cursos de saúde

RESUMO Objetivo Avaliar o consumo de formulações emagrecedoras e sua possível associação com o risco de transtornos alimentares (TAs) em universitários de cursos de saúde de diversos níveis socioeconômicos. Métodos Estudo epidemiológico transversal, realizado com 276 universitários matriculados em quatro cursos da área da saúde. Para a obtenção dos dados, utilizaram-se três instrumentos autoaplicáveis: o Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), o Bulimic Investigatory Test of Edinburgh (BITE) e, para investigar o consumo de formulações emagrecedoras, um questionário elaborado pela própria equipe de pesquisa. Para análise dos dados, aplicou-se o teste qui-quadrado, adotando-se o nível de significância de 5%. Resultados Vinte e um universitários apresentaram risco de TA pela escala EAT-26, correspondente a 7,6% dos pesquisados. A frequência do uso de formulações emagrecedoras foi de 7,2%. Houve associação significativa (p < 0,001) entre o uso de formulações emagrecedoras e a presença de risco para TA (33,3%), com percentual muito elevado quando comparado ao percentual de entrevistados sem risco de TA que estavam em uso de medicamentos (5,1%). Conclusões O consumo de formulações emagrecedoras esteve associado tanto à presença de risco para TA, nas escalas EAT-26 e BITE, quanto aos níveis socioeconômicos, principalmente para a classe de renda C.