Eating disorders during lockdown: the transcultural influence on eating and mood disturbances in Ibero-Brazilian population.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 pandemic has implied exceptional restrictive measures to contain its widespread, with adverse consequences on mental health, especially for those people with a background of mental illness, such as eating disorders (EDs). In this population, the influence of socio-cultural aspects on mental health has been still underexplored. Then, the main aim of this study was to assess changes in eating and general psychopathology in people with EDs during lockdown regarding the ED subtype, age, and provenance, and considering socio-cultural aspects (e.g., socioeconomical factors such as work and financial losses, social support, restrictive measures, or health accessibility, among others). METHODS: The clinical sample was composed of 264 female participants with EDs (74 anorexia nervosa (AN), 44 bulimia nervosa (BN), 81 binge eating disorder (BED), and 65 other specified feeding and eating disorder (OSFED)), with a mean age of 33.49 years old (SD = 12.54), from specialized ED units in Brazil, Portugal, and Spain. The participants were evaluated using the COVID-19 Isolation Eating Scale (CIES). RESULTS: A global impairment in mood symptoms and emotion regulation was reported in all the ED subtypes, groups of age, and countries. Spanish and Portuguese individuals seemed more resilient than Brazilian ones (p < .05), who reported a more adverse socio-cultural context (i.e., physical health, socio-familial, occupational, and economic status) (p < .001). A global trend to eating symptoms worsening during lockdown was observed, regardless of the ED subtype, group of age, and country, but without reaching statistical significance. However, the AN and BED groups described the highest worsening of the eating habits during lockdown. Moreover, individuals with BED significantly increased their weight and body mass index, similarly to BN, and in contrast to the AN and OSFED groups. Finally, we failed to find significant differences between groups of age although the younger group described a significant worsening of the eating symptoms during lockdown. CONCLUSIONS: This study reports a psychopathological impairment in patients with EDs during lockdown, being socio-cultural aspects potential modulatory factors. Individualized approaches to detect special vulnerable groups and long-term follow-ups are still needed.

The Influence of Mothers on the Development of Their Daughter's Eating Disorders: An Integrative Review

ABSTRACT Background: Eating disorders (ED) are characterized by changes in eating behavior, whose aetiology is multifactorial with an emphasis on family relations, especially in the mother-daughter relationship Objective: To analyse the national and international scientific literature about the influence of mothers on the development of their daughter's ED. Methods: Integrative review based on the search of publications from 2012 to 2019 through PubMed, LILACS and SciELO electronic databases. Results: It was found 181 articles, from which 26 were selected (21 in English, four in Portuguese and one in French) to comprise the research corpus. In addition, 155 were removed from the review due to the exclusion criteria, which included narrative review articles, theses, dissertations, monographs, editorial letters and responses to the editor. Discussion: The analyzed articles offer evidence that the type of influence exercised by the mother depends on her personality profile, the mother's eating behaviour and body attitudes, the bond between mother and daughter and the type of communication that is established between the dyad. Conclusion: Health promotion actions in the population are necessary to prevent ED. In addition, interventions for families, and especially for mothers, are recommended, in order to favour more effective therapeutic and prognostic results.