A study on the interplay between emerging adulthood and eating disorder symptomatology in young adults.

PURPOSE: The primary aim of this study was to investigate the interplay between Arnett's five features of emerging adulthood and ED symptomatology. The secondary aim of the study was to investigate possible gender differences concerning the relation between emerging adulthood and ED symptomatology. METHODS: 337 university students (252 females and 85 males) participated in this study. Each participant was asked to anonymously complete the following questionnaires: Inventory of the Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA), Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), and Social Physique Anxiety Scale (SPAS). RESULTS: The female group scored higher in the EAT-26 diet, SPAS, IDEA self-focus and IDEA total score measurements. Additionally, in the female group, identity exploration was correlated with EAT-26 total and bulimia, experimentation/possibilities with EAT-26 total and diet, and negativity/instability with EAT-26 total, diet and bulimia as well as SPAS score. In the male groups, the only significant correlation was between SPAS and instability/negativity. Finally, identity exploration could predict a higher probability of developing ED (EAT ≥ 20) for both the female and male groups. CONCLUSIONS: Emerging adulthood and ED were found to have a close relationship, especially for females. Identity exploration was the emerging adulthood factor that showed the highest relation to ED symptomatology in both the male and female groups. More research is necessary to investigate the specifics of this relationship. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level V, cross-sectional descriptive study.

Sexual function of women suffering from anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

The cross-sectional study aimed at examining the sexual function of young adult women suffering from eating disorders. The authors interviewed 53 women (26 with anorexia nervosa and 27 with bulimia nervosa) and 58 female students. Each participant was administered the Female Sexual Function Index, the Eating Attitudes Test, the Body Shape Questionnaire, and the Beck Depression Inventory. Comparisons among the 3 groups showed that patients with anorexia nervosa scored lower in each Female Sexual Function Index subscale than did healthy controls. There was no significant difference between bulimia nervosa and healthy controls. Sexual functionality of patients with anorexia nervosa was correlated only with body mass index (r = 0.5, p =.01). Sexual functionality of patients with bulimia nervosa was correlated only with the Beck Depression Inventory (r = -0.4, p =.03) Patients with anorexia nervosa had more disturbed sexual function than did controls. Sexual function can be related to the level of starvation and symptoms of depression.

Thought-shape fusion in anorexia and bulimia nervosa: a comparative experimental study.

'Thought-shape fusion' (TSF) is a cognitive distortion specific in patients with eating disorders and occurs when the thought about eating a forbidden food increases a person's estimate of her weight/shape, elicits a perception of moral wrongdoing and makes her feel fat. This study aimed to experimentally induce, study and compare TSF between patients with bulimia nervosa (BN) and patients with anorexia nervosa (AN). 31 patients diagnosed with a current eating disorder, of which 20 met DSM-IV-TR criteria for BN and 11 for AN, participated in a mixed-model experimental design with the aim of eliciting TSF and investigating the effects of corrective behaviors (checking and mental neutralizing). Verbal analogue scales constituted the main outcome measures. TSF was experimentally induced and expressed in a similar way in both clinical groups, apart from 'feeling fat' which was higher in BN patients. TSF induction triggered heightened levels of anxiety, guilt and urges to engage in corrective behaviors in both groups. Body dissatisfaction only increased in the BN patients. Mental neutralizing and to a lesser extent checking reduced most effects of the experimental procedure, but this effect was larger for BN patients. The nature of TSF seems to have similarities between BN and AN patients; however, the precise connection between TSF and different types of eating disorders remains to be explored in future clinical trials.

Anatomical and functional impairment of the retina and optic nerve in patients with anorexia nervosa without vision loss.

AIM: The aim of this cross-sectional study is to evaluate the macular and retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness, as well as the electrical activity of the macula in female patients suffering from anorexia nervosa (AN) without visual failure. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 13 female patients (26 eyes) suffering from AN without visual failure and 20 age and sex-matched healthy female controls (40 eyes) were studied. For the measurement of the macula thickness and the electrical activity of the macula, the optical coherence tomography (OCT) and the multifocal electroretinogram were used respectively. RESULTS: The visual acuity, as well as the visual fields, the colour vision testing and the dark adaptation test of all patients were normal. However, the mean foveal thickness was 140.04 µm (vs 150.85 in the control group, p=0.005), and the RNFL thickness was limited to 116.42 µm in the superior area (vs 123.15 in the control group, p=0.372) and 121.08 µm in the inferior area (vs 137.6 in the control group, p<0.001) around the optic nerve. Also, the mean P1 response density amplitude of the foveal area was 159.04 nV/deg(2) (vs 292.43 in the control group, p<0.0001), and the perifoveal area was 79.04 nV/deg(2) (vs 82.63 in the control group, p=0.118). CONCLUSION: The present study shows that in patients with AN, even without visual failure there is a decrease in macular and RNFL thickness, as well as a decrease in the electrical activity of the macula.

Eating disorders: A serious problem of mental health seeks solution.

Eating Disorders are a group of mental disorders with considerable peculiarities and present a challenge for both the scientific community and the general public. More specific in our country a great attention and concern has being observed recently, caused to some extend by the role of public media, as they turned to "inform" about these disorders. Popular television programs are frequently focusing on famous individuals suffering from the disorder. Or they deal with dramatic presentation of Anorexia Nervosa (AN) cases, as they describe their wander around from inpatient services of general hospitals to private practices either of psychiatrists who only prescribed psychopharmaceutics drugs or gynecologists who recommended oral contraceptives.