The impact of psychiatric comorbidities on patient-reported surgical outcomes in adults treated for the median arcuate ligament syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Median arcuate ligament syndrome (MALS) is an often overlooked, surgically correctable condition that mimics functional chronic abdominal pain. Patient-reported surgical outcomes are unpredictable in MALS. The objective of this study was to define the psychiatric comorbidities in a cohort of adults undergoing surgery for MALS and to determine whether these comorbidities are predictive of patient-reported quality of life (QOL) outcomes. METHODS: A prospective observational trial was conducted between April 1, 2010, and December 31, 2015, at a single tertiary care hospital. Adults with a diagnosis of chronic abdominal pain in the setting of celiac artery compression were enrolled in a prospective Institutional Review Board-approved observational trial. Patients completed psychological assessments before surgery for MALS and at 6 months after surgery. The primary outcome was patient-reported health-related QOL (young adult version of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory). RESULTS: A total of 51 patients (80% female; n = 41) with a mean age of 30.5 (±12.4) years were enrolled. Surgery significantly improved celiac artery hemodynamics in the entire cohort (P < .0001) as well as overall QOL (67.8 ± 14.6 [before surgery] vs 80.3 ± 13.7 [after surgery]; P < .001). Psychiatric diagnoses were common in this cohort, with 14 of 51 (28%) patients meeting criteria for a psychiatric diagnosis. There were no differences in the number of patients with psychiatric diagnoses between presurgical and postsurgical evaluations (14 [28%] vs 13 [26%]; P = .8). Exploratory analyses suggest that having a psychiatric diagnosis at the presurgical evaluation may predict significantly lower postsurgical QOL (R2 = 0.009; P = .01). CONCLUSIONS: Surgery improves patient-reported QOL in adults treated for MALS. Psychiatric diagnoses are common in adults with MALS and predict worse patient-reported QOL outcomes.

Psychological Factors and Outcomes in the Surgical Treatment of Pediatric Patients With Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Median arcuate ligament syndrome (MALS) is a frequently overlooked cause of chronic abdominal pain (CAP), and results in many symptoms that mimic other gastrointestinal conditions that result in CAP. A small, but growing body of literature indicates that surgery improves quality of life (QOL) in patients with MALS. The purpose of the current study was to examine the psychological characteristics of pediatric patients with MALS to determine their prevalence and impact on surgical outcomes. METHODS: Thirty-two pediatric patients completed psychological assessments before surgery, and 6 months postsurgical intervention. Descriptive analyses and t tests were conducted to characterize the sample and compare psychosocial and QOL items. To explore possible associations between coping and ultimate changes in QOL, exploratory multiple regressions were conducted. RESULTS: Comorbid psychological conditions were common, occurring in about half the sample before and after surgery. Current pain significantly improved, as well as patient and parent-reported QOL constructs (Ps < 0.05). Parent-reported observations of patients using catastrophizing or helpless strategies to cope with pain before surgery was significantly associated with changes in patient and parent-reported QOL following surgery (Ps = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Comorbid psychological conditions are common in pediatric patients with MALS, and are maintained following surgery. While surgery improved pain and QOL, the need for presurgical psychological interventions for MALS is implicated.

A Pilot Study of Neural Correlates of Loss of Control Eating in Children With Overweight/Obesity: Probing Intermittent Access to Food as a Means of Eliciting Disinhibited Eating.

Objective: Neural substrates of loss of control (LOC) eating are undercharacterized. We aimed to model intermittent access to food to elicit disinhibited eating in youth undergoing neuroimaging, given evidence that restricted food access may increase subsequent food intake via enhancing reward value of food and diminishing eating-related self-control. Methods: Participants were 18 preadolescents (aged 9-12 years) who were overweight/obese with recent LOC eating (OW-LOC; n = 6); overweight/obese with no history of LOC eating (OW-CON; n = 5); or non-overweight with no history of LOC eating (NW-CON; n = 7). Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging during a simulated food restriction paradigm in which they were alternately given restricted or unrestricted access to milkshake solutions. Results: There were no significant main effects of restricted versus unrestricted access to milkshake flavors. Group main effects revealed increased activation for OW-LOC relative to OW-CON in areas related to attentional processes (right middle frontal gyrus), inhibitory control/attentional shifts (right and left cuneus), and emotion regulation (left cingulate gyrus); and for OW-LOC relative to NW-CON in areas related to response inhibition (right inferior frontal gyrus). Significant block type × group interaction effects were found for the right middle frontal gyrus, left cingulate gyrus, and left cuneus, but these appeared to be accounted for primarily by group. Discussion: There were clear group differences in neural activity in brain regions related to self-regulation during a food restriction paradigm. Elevations in these regions among OW-LOC relative to OW-CON and NW-CON, respectively, may suggest that youth with LOC eating expended more cognitive effort to regulate ingestive behavior.

Executive functioning in a racially diverse sample of children who are overweight and at risk for eating disorders.

Difficulties with executive functioning may underlie both overweight and loss of control (LOC) eating behavior across the age spectrum, but there is a relative paucity of research in children with both conditions. This study aimed to characterize general executive functioning among children with overweight and LOC eating as compared to their overweight and normal-weight peers. Participants were 75 racially diverse children (58.7% female; 81.3% African-American), aged 9-12y (M age = 10.5 ± 1.1), of whom 26 were overweight/obese and endorsed LOC eating (OW-LOC), 34 were overweight controls (OW-CON), and 15 were normal-weight controls (NW-CON). All children completed interview-based measures of eating pathology, and behavioral measures of executive functioning. Parents reported on behavioral facets of children's executive functioning. Groups were compared across parent-report measures and behavioral tasks using analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) and multivariate analyses of covariance (MANCOVAs) which adjusted for general intellectual functioning. Significant group differences were revealed on a behavioral measure of planning, the Tower of London task [F (5,65) = 3.52; p = 0.007], and a behavioral measure of working memory, the List Sorting task [F (2,71) = 6.45; p = 0.003]. Post-hoc tests revealed that OW-LOC and OW-CON performed worse than NW-CON on the Tower of London, with relative decrements in accuracy rather than performance time. Further, OW-LOC performed worse than both OW-CON and NW-CON on the List Sorting task. Overweight with or without concomitant LOC eating in children may characterize a unique pattern of executive dysfunction. Interventions for eating- and weight-related problems in youth should address underlying deficits in planning and working memory.

Adaptation and implementation of family-based treatment enhanced with dialectical behavior therapy skills for anorexia nervosa in community-based specialist clinics.

Although family-based therapy (FBT) is a well-established treatment for anorexia nervosa, its implementation and effectiveness in clinical settings has been neglected. A group of seven therapists at a community-based eating disorders clinic were trained in skills-enhanced FBT and provided treatment to 11 youth with anorexia nervosa. Family-based skills training, which borrowed heavily from dialectical behavior therapy, was introduced in four additional sessions and then integrated throughout the remainder of FBT. FBT was perceived as appropriate and acceptable by all participants. Therapists reported high treatment fidelity. There was a large improvement in weight and moderate improvement in caregiver-reported eating disorder psychopathology but no clinically significant change by youth report. This study provides preliminary data on the implementation and effectiveness of FBT in the community.

The importance of loss of control while eating in adolescents with purging disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Although many individuals with purging disorder (PD) report loss of control (LOC) eating, it is unclear whether they differ from those who do not, or from other eating disorders involving purging and/or LOC. METHOD: We compared PD with LOC (PD-LOC), PD without LOC (PD-noLOC), bulimia nervosa (BN), and anorexia nervosa-binge/purge subtype (AN-B/P) on measures of eating-related and general psychopathology in treatment-seeking adolescents. RESULTS: PD-LOC comprised ∼30% of PD diagnoses. PD-LOC and PD-noLOC did not differ from one another, or from BN and AN-B/P, on most measures of psychopathology, with some exceptions. PD-noLOC was similar to AN-B/P (p = 0.99) and significantly different from BN on eating concerns (p < 0.001), while PD-LOC was similar to BN, AN-B/P, and PD-noLOC on this measure (ps ≥ 0.06). PD-LOC reported higher self-esteem than BN, AN-B/P, and PD-noLOC (ps < 0.001). DISCUSSION: PD was largely similar to other eating disorders characterized by purging, regardless of whether LOC eating was present. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2016; 49:801-804).

Picking and nibbling in children and adolescents with eating disorders.

OBJECTIVE: Picking and nibbling (P&N), defined as eating in an unplanned and repetitious way between meals and snacks, is prevalent among adults with eating disorders (EDs), but unexamined among youth with EDs. This study sought to assess the prevalence of P&N in youth with EDs and its association with ED and comorbid pathology. METHOD: Youth (N = 515; ages 7-18) who presented to one outpatient ED research-clinical program were assessed for ED and comorbid pathology. RESULTS: Two-fifths (n = 214, 41.6%) of youth endorsed P&N. These individuals were older (p < .001) and had a higher percent expected body weight (p = .006) than those who denied P&N. Controlling for age and percent expected body weight, P&N was only associated with global ED pathology in youth with anorexia nervosa (AN) or atypical AN (p = .007). P&N was not associated with ED diagnosis, ED pathology in youth with bulimia nervosa or subclinical bulimia nervosa, binge eating, compensatory behaviors, secret eating, or the presence of a mood or anxiety disorder (p's > .05). DISCUSSION: Consistent with research in adults, P&N is prevalent but not significantly associated with ED pathology, except for global ED pathology in youth with AN/atypical AN, or comorbid disorders.

Overvaluation of shape and weight in adolescents with anorexia nervosa: does shape concern or weight concern matter more for treatment outcome?

BACKGROUND: Overvaluation of shape and weight is a key diagnostic feature of anorexia nervosa (AN); however, limited research has evaluated the clinical utility of differentiating between weight versus shape concerns. Understanding differences in these constructs may have important implications for AN treatment given the focus on weight regain. This study examined differences in treatment outcome between individuals whose primary concern was weight versus those whose primary concern was shape in a randomized controlled trial of treatment for adolescent AN. METHODS: Data were drawn from a two-site randomized controlled trial that compared family-based treatment and adolescent focused therapy for AN. Chi-square tests and logistic regression analyses were conducted. RESULTS: Thirty percent of participants presented with primary weight concern (n = 36; defined as endorsing higher Eating Disorder Examination (EDE) Weight Concern than Shape Concern subscale scores); 60 % presented with primary shape concern (n = 72; defined as endorsing higher EDE Shape Concern than Weight Concern scores). There were no significant differences between the two groups in remission status at the end of treatment. Treatment did not moderate the effect of group status on achieving remission. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that treatment outcomes are comparable between adolescents who enter treatment for AN with greater weight concerns and those who enter treatment with greater shape concerns. Therefore, treatment need not be adjusted based on primary weight or primary shape concerns.