Orthorexia - current approach. A review. / Ortoreksja ­ aktualne ujecie problemu. Przeglad badan.

The aim of the study was to define orthorexia nervosa (ON) based on the latest scientific findings regarding incidence, groups and risk factors as well as relationships between ON and other clinical entities. The paper is based on the review of the MEDLINE/PubMed databases. Publications published between 2009 and 2019 were analyzed in terms of epidemiology, risk factors and formulation of the ON concept. ON is a clinical entity of an unclear origin and various authors have continued their discussion on the relation between ON and other groups of disorders (AN, BN, OCD, ASD). Epidemiological data vary and depending on a population present extreme values from anywhere between 1% and 90%. Risk factors are alternatively identified in various groups and authors are not unanimous as for the effect of determinants such as anthropometric and sociodemographic variables on the presence of ON symptoms. Presented findings are affected by the fact that there is a relatively small number of studied groups, they are not fully representative and applied tools are different: BOT, ORTO-15, EHQ, DOS. Since the nosological status of ON remains unclear and there are no standard and operationalized diagnostic criteria and reliable assessment tools, ON requires further study. Similarly, because it is still not known how to best treat ON - which is caused by ambiguities in the concept of the phenomenon itself - prevention and therapy programs, which are non-existent, should be developed (in risk groups in particular).

The assessment of orthorexia nervosa among 1899 Polish adolescents using the ORTO-15 questionnaire.

OBJECTIVE: Orthorexia nervosa (ON) is considered an eating disorder (ED), with an excessive fixation on the consumption of healthy food and an obsession with its biological purity. Since the adolescent period poses a risk for EDs, the aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of ON in a population of Polish urban adolescents and some possible contributory factors. METHOD: 1899 high school students, 992 girls and 907 boys aged 15-21 years were studied. Demographic and clinical data were collected using a validated questionnaire including information on preferred living choices, in the context of pro- and antihealth activities. The Polish version of the ORTO-15 questionnaire was used. RESULTS: The mean value of the ORTO-15 was 39.2 ± 3.6 points, with no sex difference. The main factors connected with orthorexia, according to the 'Orthorexia 33.35 and 40' definitions were excess weight, sporting activities, out-of-school activities, smoking status, working parents and a high family income. CONCLUSIONS: This study, of a large number of adolescents, showed a prevalence of ON similar to that recorded in adult populations. Since factors predisposing to ON in adolescence differ from those for other eating disorders, it is not clear whether ON should be treated as a new form of ED.

[Validation of ORTO-15 Questionnaire in the group of urban youth aged 15-21]. / Walidacja kwestionariusza ORTO-15 w grupie mlodziezy miejskiej w wieku 15-21 lat.

AIM: The aim of the study was the validation and adaptation of the ORTO-15 Questionnaire in the group of the Polish schoolgirls and schoolboys. METHODS: The study included 399 participants (15-21 years old), all of them high school students in the city of Sosnowiec. The ORTO-15 is a tool created in Italy by L.M. Donini, comprising of 15 items describing intensification of orthorexia risk (population diagnosis). The validation procedure incorporated three basic methods to be applied in the reliability analysis - the comparison of double tests with the same method, the statistical properties analysis of test items as well as analysis of the relation of test items with the general test result. Moreover, the compliance of the ORTO-15 Questionnaire results with other questionnaire focused on eating habits (EAT-26) was studied. RESULTS: The reliability analysis of the ORTO-15 Questionnaire based on repeatability of the responses presents a very good (kappa: 0.81 - 1.00 for 5 items) and a good repeatability (kappa: 0.61 - 0.80 for 10 items). The reliability analysis based on the value of the Cronbach's α reached a satisfactory level (0.7 - 0.9). A full agreement of in the occurrence of orthorexia risk and the risk of eating disorders concerned 47.2% (Kappa = 0.04; 95% CI: 0.004 - 0.09) for the Ortho-40 and 88.2% (Kappa = 0.32; 95% CI: 0.17 - 0.47) for the Ortho-35. CONCLUSIONS: The ORTO-15 questionnaire is a reliable tool to identify the risk of ON in population studies in the group of urban youth aged 15 - 21.

[Faith vs. science: soul's possession or dissociative disorder? A case study]. / Pomiedzy wiara a nauka: zniewolenie duszy czy zaburzenia dysocjacyjne? Prezentacja przypadku.

The aim of this paper is to discuss the impact and significance of religious beliefs on the dissociation and somatization symptoms presented by a hospitalised female patient. A 16-year-old girl was hospitalised at the Developmental Age Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Clinical Ward (The Clinical PiPWR Ward) for observation; she had been referred from the Regional Acute Poisoning Centre where she had been admitted upon taking some medications. For two years she had been subjected to exorcisms due to "possession by the Evil". Religious convictions had been sustained and enhanced by the patient's parents as well as a local Catholic community. The observation and diagnosis at the PiPWR Clinical Ward revealed mixed dissociation and somatization disorders as well as an abnormally shaping personality. The presented case, on the basis of the clinical observation and the analysis of literature on the subject, led to the following conclusions: the emotional issues and the system of religious beliefs influenced the shape of symptomatology, enforced the functioning of immature defensive mechanisms and intensified the dissociation and somatization disorders in the patient. The diagnosed mental disorders require that the girl should undergo individual and family psychotherapy.