Adult ADHD Symptoms in a Large Metropolitan Area From Brazil: Prevalence and Associations with Psychiatric Comorbidity, Bullying, Sexual Abuse, and Quality of Life.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and psychiatric correlates of symptomatic ADHD in a large metropolitan area of a middle-income country. METHODS: An in-person household survey with randomly selected 2,297 adults aged 19 to 60 from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, assessed by trained lay interviewers. The Adult Self-Rating Scale Screener (ASRS-6) was used. Chi-square and logistic regression were conducted. RESULTS: ADHD prevalence was 4.59 (95% CI [3.56, 5.44]). Those with ADHD were younger and more often unemployed; they displayed more psychiatric symptoms (depression, anxiety, and alcohol abuse) and a history of bullying and sexual abuse. They also had worse physical health indicators. Findings remained significant when controlling for socioeconomic variables. CONCLUSION: Adults with symptomatic ADHD from a large metropolitan area in Brazil show a pattern of findings consistent with what has been observed in higher-income countries.

Food Consumption during Binge Eating Episodes in Binge Eating Spectrum Conditions from a Representative Sample of a Brazilian Metropolitan City.

The prevalence of binge eating spectrum conditions (BESC) are increasing globally. However, there is a lack of data from general population samples in low- and middle-income countries. Thus, this study described the food consumption during objective binge eating episodes (OBE) in people with BESC from a metropolitan city in Brazil. Participants comprised 136 adults (18 years old-60 years old) with Binge Eating Disorder (BED), Bulimia Nervosa (BN), or recurrent binge eating (RBE) from a two-phase epidemiological survey. They were interviewed in their homes by trained lay interviewers using the Questionnaire on Eating and Weight Patterns updated for the DSM-5 to assess BESC diagnosis and food consumption during a typical OBE. Overall, participants consumed a mean of 1067 kcal during the episodes. For the most part, these calories were derived from carbohydrates (58%) and lipids (30%), irrespective of the diagnosis. Regarding food item consumption, individuals with BED and RBE consumed staple foods (mainly rice and beans) more frequently than those with BN. Conversely, participants with BN ingested sugar-sweetened beverages more frequently than the BED group. In conclusion, there were differences in the eating patterns of individuals with BESC in Brazil. BED and RBE participants consumed more typical foods, whereas those with BN preferred foods with a high content of energy during their OBE.

Hyperpalatable Foods Consumption in a Representative Sample of the General Population in Brazil: Differences of Binge and Non-Binge Eating Meals.

The availability of hyper-palatable foods (HPF) increased over the past three decades worldwide, a period when eating disorders (ED) and obesity have become global public health concerns. The present study aimed to assess HPF consumption during binge and non-binge meals in a representative sample of adults with and without ED from a metropolitan city in Brazil. A total of 2297 individuals were interviewed in their homes by trained lay interviewers to assess the presence of binge eating disorder (BED), bulimia nervosa (BN), and recurrent binge eating (RBE). Information on their food consumption in objective and subjective binge eating episodes (OBE and SBE, respectively), as well as in the 24 h food recall were obtained. Individuals from the general population consumed 56% of their total calories from HPF. In non-binge meals, people with BN consumed substantially fewer calories from HPF than BED (63% vs. 48%) and RBE (63% vs. 48%) groups. During OBE, participants consumed an average of 70% of the calories from HPF, with no between-group differences. During SBE, subjects with BN consumed substantially fewer calories from HPF than those with BED (76% vs. 50%). In conclusion, HPF were highly consumed by the Brazilian population. However, there was a greater impact on BED and RBE subjects and during binge eating episodes.

Validation of the Brazilian version of the Short Inventory of Grazing (SIG).

BACKGROUND: Grazing is a disturbed eating pattern that has been associated with eating disorders and obesity. One of the new measures to investigate this eating behavior is the Short Inventory of Grazing (SIG), a two-item questionnaire that assesses grazing in general and grazing associated with the feeling of loss of control over eating (LOC grazing). However, the psychometric properties of SIG have not been assessed in the Brazilian population. OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to cross-culturally adapt and validate the Brazilian version of SIG. METHODS: SIG was adapted to the Brazilian context following international guidelines. Then, 90 undergraduate students completed an online survey including questions from the SIG, the Binge Eating Scale (BES), the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ9), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD7), and questions related to self-reported health status. The internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and the convergent validity of the questionnaire were assessed. RESULTS: The prevalence of at least one weekly episode of grazing in general and LOC grazing was 71.1% and 54.5%, respectively. The internal consistence of the SIG was acceptable (0.81). In addition, SIG scores on both items were positively and significantly associated with BES, GAD7, and PHQ9 scores, and with poorer self-rated health. However, SIG scores on the test and retest differed significantly. CONCLUSION: Overall, the Brazilian version of SIG demonstrated adequate psychometric properties. The instrument had an adequate internal consistency, with both items exhibiting good convergent validity with related measures.

Concurrent validity of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Questionnaire on Eating and Weight Patterns-5 (QEWP-5) in the general population.

The Questionnaire on Eating and Weight Patterns-5 is a self-report instrument developed for the screening of Binge Eating Disorder (BED) and Bulimia Nervosa (BN) according to DSM-5. The present study aimed to examine the concurrent validity of the Brazilian version of QEWP-5 to assess BED and BN in the general population. The Brazilian version of QEWP-5 was administered to 2297 subjects, aged from 18 to 60 years. All screen-positive and a subset of screen-negative participants were also interviewed by telephone using the eating disorders (ED) module of Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV - Patients Version (SCID-I-P) for the assessment of BED, BN, and their subthreshold forms. For the assessment of BED, the sensitivity of QEWP-5 was 0.41 and its specificity was 0.90. The positive and negative predictive values were 0.48 and 0.87, respectively. Regarding the assessment of BN, QEWP-5 showed a sensitivity of 0.56, a specificity of 0.90, a positive predictive value of 0.35, and a negative predictive value of 0.95. For the global screening of ED (BED, BN, and subthreshold forms), QEWP-5 showed a sensitivity of 0.71, a specificity of 0.83, a positive predictive value of 0.64 and a negative predictive value of 0.87. QEWP-5 can be a useful instrument for the initial screening of diagnostic threshold ED psychopathology in general population samples. However, it has less utility in identifying cases of BED and BN independently.

Cross-cultural adaptation of the Brazilian version of the Questionnaire on Eating and Weight Patterns-5 (QEWP-5).

INTRODUCTION: The Questionnaire on Eating and Weight Patterns-5 (QEWP-5) is a self-report instrument developed to screen individuals for binge eating disorder (BED), as defined by the DSM-5. However, this version of the instrument had not been adapted for the Brazilian population. OBJECTIVE: To describe translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the QEWP-5 into Brazilian Portuguese. METHODS: Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the QEWP-5 included the following steps: forward translation, comparison of translations and a synthesis version, blind back-translations, comparison of the back translations with the original version, and a comprehensibility test. The comprehensibility test was conducted with a sample of 10 participants with BED or bulimia nervosa and 10 eating disorders experts. Additionally, a Content Validity Index (CVI-I) was calculated for each item and then averaged to produce an index for the entire scale (CVI-Ave), to assess content equivalence. RESULTS: Some inconsistencies emerged during the process of translation and adaptation. However, the expert committee solved them by consensus. The participants of the comprehensibility test understood the Brazilian version of QEWP-5 well. Only 2 patients (20%) had doubts about items related to subjective binge eating episodes. Content equivalence analysis rated all items relevant, with CVI-I ranging from 0.8 to 1.0 and an overall CVI-Ave of 0.94. In view of the good overall assessment of the pre-final version of the instrument, additional changes were not made to the final version. CONCLUSION: The Brazilian version of the QEWP-5 was cross-culturally adapted and was well understood by the target population. Further studies are required to assess its psychometric properties.