Does food use disorder exist? Item response theory analyses of a food use disorder adapted from the DSM-5 substance use disorder criteria in a treatment seeking clinical sample.

BACKGROUND: Increased consumption of food that are high in energy and sugar have been pointed as a major factor in the obesity epidemic. Impaired control of food intake and the concept of food addiction has been developed as a potential contributor. Our objective was to evaluate the dimensionality and psychometric validity of diagnostic criteria for food addiction adapted from the 11 DSM-5 substance use disorder (SUD) criteria (i.e.: Food Use Disorder (FUD) criteria), and to evaluate the influence of age, gender, and body mass index (BMI). METHODS: Cross-sectional observational study including 508 participants (56.1% male; mean age 42.2) from outpatient treatment clinics for obesity or addiction disorders at time of admission. FUD diagnostic criteria were analyzed using confirmatory factor and 2-parameter item response theory analyses. Differential Item and Test Functioning analyses were performed across age, gender, and BMI. RESULTS: We demonstrated the one-factor dimensionality of the criteria set. The criterion "craving" presented the strongest factor loading and discrimination parameter and the second-lowest difficulty. We found some significant uniform differential item functioning for body mass index. We found some differential test functioning for gender and BMI. CONCLUSIONS: This study reports, for the first time, the validity of a potential Food Use Disorder (derived from the 11 DSM-5 SUD criteria adapted to food) in a sample of treatment seeking adults. This has great implications both at the clinical level and in terms of public health policy in the context of the global obesity epidemic.

Item Response Theory Analyses of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) Criteria Adapted to Screen Use Disorder: Exploratory Survey.

BACKGROUND: Screen use is part of daily life worldwide and morbidity related to excess use of screens has been reported. Some use of screens in excess could indicate a screen use disorder (ScUD). An integrative approach to ScUD could better fit the polymodal reality of screens, and concurrent problems with screens, than a split approach, activity by activity. In that paradigm, a pragmatic and operationalized approach to study a potential ScUD requires the use of common criteria, for all screens and activities done on screens, in a single questionnaire. OBJECTIVE: Our goals were (1) to describe screen uses in a general population sample and (2) to test the unidimensionality, local independence, and psychometric properties of the 9 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) internet gaming disorder (IGD) criteria adapted to screen use in a community sample. We hypothesized that the 9 DSM-5 IGD criteria adapted to ScUD would show unidimensionality, local independence, and good discrimination, with criteria distributed on the severity continuum. METHODS: This cross-sectional survey in a French suburban city targeted adults and adolescents. A self-administered questionnaire covered the main types of screens used and their use for various activities in the past month. Presence of ScUD diagnostic criteria in past 12 months was also self-evaluated in the questionnaire. Factor and 2-parameter Item Response Theory analysis were used to investigate the dimensionality, local independence, and psychometric properties of the ScUD criteria. RESULTS: Among the 300 participants, 171 (57.0%) were female (mean age 27 years), 297 (99.0%) used screens, 134 (44.7%) reported at least one criterion (potential problem users), and 5 (1.7%) reported 5 or more criteria and endorsed an ScUD. The most endorsed criteria were loss of control (60/300, 20.0%) and preoccupation (52/300, 17.3%). Screen types used and screen activities differed between participants with no ScUD criteria and those with at least one ScUD criterion. The latter were more likely to have a computer as the most used screen type, and more video gaming, communication/social network, and watching news and research of information as activities. Unidimensionality was confirmed by all fit indices. Local independence was confirmed by the absence of residual correlation between the items. Criteria had relatively high factor loading, with loss of interest in other recreational activities having the highest. However, criteria with the lowest factor loading all remained above the cut-offs, sanctioning unidimensionality. Most discriminating criteria were loss of interests, preoccupation, deceive/cover up, and risk/lose relationship/opportunities, which also provided the most information on the measurement of the latent trait. CONCLUSIONS: We described screen uses in a French community sample and have shown that the adaptation of the DSM-5 IGD to "ScUD" has good psychometric validity and is discriminating, confirming our hypothesis. We suggest to use those criteria to assess potential "ScUD." Further studies should determine if all criteria are needed and whether others should be added.

Effectiveness and Acceptance of a Smartphone-Based Virtual Agent Screening for Alcohol and Tobacco Problems and Associated Risk Factors During COVID-19 Pandemic in the General Population.

Background: During the current COVID-19 pandemic, alcohol, and tobacco are the most available substances for managing stress and can induce a risk of addiction. KANOPEE is a smartphone application available to the general population using an embodied conversational agent (ECA) to screen for experiences of problems with alcohol/tobacco use and to provide follow-up tools for brief intervention. Objectives: This study aimed to determine if the smartphone KANOPEE application could identify people at risk for alcohol and/or tobacco use disorders in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic, to assess adherence to a 7-day follow-up use diary, and to evaluate trust and acceptance of the application. Methods: The conversational agent, named Jeanne, interviewed participants about perceived problems with the use of alcohol and tobacco since the pandemic and explored risk for tobacco and alcohol use disorder with the five-item Cigarette Dependence Scale (CDS-5) and "Cut Down, Annoyed, Guilty, Eye-opener" (CAGE) questionnaire and experience of craving for each substance. Descriptive, univariate, and multivariate analyses were performed to specify personalized associations with reporting a problem with alcohol/tobacco use; descriptive analysis reported the experience with the intervention and acceptance and trust in the application. Results: From April 22 to October 26, 2020, 1,588 French participants completed the KANOPEE interview, and 318 answered the acceptance and trust scales. Forty-two percent of tobacco users and 27% of alcohol users reported problem use since the pandemic. Positive screening with CDS-5 and CAGE and craving were associated with reported problem use (p < 0.0001). Lockdown period influenced alcohol (p < 0.0005) but not tobacco use (p > 0.05). Eighty-eight percent of users reported that KANOPEE was easy to use, and 82% found Jeanne to be trustworthy and credible. Conclusion: KANOPEE was able to screen for risk factors for substance use disorder (SUD) and was acceptable to users. Reporting craving and being at risk for SUD seem to be early markers to be identified. Alcohol problem use seems to be more reliant on contextual conditions such as confinement. This method is able to offer acceptable, brief, and early intervention with minimal delay for vulnerable people.

Inventory and Analysis of Controlled Trials of Mobile Phone Applications Targeting Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Review.

Background: Less than 20% of people with addictions have access to adequate treatment. Mobile health could improve access to care. No systematic review evaluates effectiveness of mobile health applications for addiction. Objectives: First aim was to describe controlled trials evaluating the effectiveness of smartphone applications targeting substance use disorders and addictive behaviors. Secondly, we aimed to understand how the application produced changes in behavior and craving management. Method: A systematic review based on PRISMA recommendations was conducted on MEDLINE, CENTRAL, and PsycINFO. Studies had to be controlled trials concerning addictive disorders (substance/behavior), mobile application-based interventions, assessing effectiveness or impact of those applications upon use, published after 2008. Relevant information was systematically screened for synthesis. Quality and risk of bias were evaluated with JADAD score. Results: Search strategy retrieved 22 articles (2014-2019) corresponding to 22 applications targeting tobacco, alcohol, other substances and binge eating disorder. Control groups had access to usual treatments or a placebo-application or no treatment. Eight applications showed reduced use. Most of the applications informed about risks of use and suggestions for monitoring use. Twelve applications managed craving. Discussion: Heterogeneity limited study comparisons. Duration of studies was too short to predict sustainable results. A reduction of craving seemed related to a reduction in use. Conclusion: There is a lack of robust and comparable studies on mHealth applications for addiction treatment. Such applications could become significant contributors in clinical practice in the future so longer-termed double-blind studies are needed. Targeting craving to prevent relapse should be systematic.