B4722 - Examining the longitudinal course of binge eating behaviour and disorder in adolescence and young adulthood - 23/10/2024

B number: 
B4722
Principal applicant name: 
Nadia Micali | Region Hovedstaden Psychiatry, Center for Eating and Feeding Disorders Research (CEDaR) (Denmark)
Co-applicants: 
Julia Freyer Martins Pereira
Title of project: 
Examining the longitudinal course of binge eating behaviour and disorder in adolescence and young adulthood
Proposal summary: 

Binge eating disorder (BED) is the most common but also one of the newest eating disorders, recently added to psychiatric diagnostic manuals. Individuals with BED have recurrent episodes of overeating with loss of control, accompanied by psychological distress and without compensatory behaviours. They also suffer frequently from other mental and physical disorders, for example, depression, obesity, and type 2 diabetes, which can impact their life. (1,2,4-8) While previous research has shown that BED precedes the development of medical complications, these studies have been carried out in adults and thus, little is known about comorbidities and longitudinal outcomes in adolescents. (6)

Binge eating (BE) is the characteristic behaviour of binge eating disorders. Both BE and BED are common. Bing eating behaviour is present in 8.5% of Danish, 3% of US, and 10% of UK youth, whereas BED has got a global prevalence of 0.9%.(1, 11-13) Both have a peak onset in young adulthood and are associated with many adverse outcomes, particularly mental and physical ones, as well as worse social and occupational functioning.(9,10, 12-15) BED alone accounts for 1/3 of all economic costs associated with ED in the US.(10) Low healthcare access and treatment seeking likely contribute to higher healthcare costs. Thus far, only two studies have investigated longitudinal trajectories of BED and BE behaviour in non-clinical populations; showing persistence of binge eating behaviour and increase in prevalence in young adulthood.(16,17) However, the course and outcome of BED and BE in adolescents and young adulthood remain unclear.

References
1. Erskine HE, Whiteford HA. Epidemiology of binge eating disorder. Current opinion in psychiatry. 2018 Nov 1;31(6):462-70.
2. Udo T, Grilo CM. Psychiatric and medical correlates of DSM‐5 eating disorders in a nationally representative sample of adults in the United States. International Journal of Eating Disorders. 2019 Jan;52(1):42-50.
3. Stice E, Marti CN, Shaw H, Jaconis M. An 8-year longitudinal study of the natural history of threshold, subthreshold, and partial eating disorders from a community sample of adolescents. Journal of abnormal psychology. 2009 Aug;118(3):587.
4. Sheehan DV, Herman BK. The psychological and medical factors associated with untreated binge eating disorder. The primary care companion for CNS disorders. 2015 Apr 23;17(2):27178.
5. Thornton LM, Watson HJ, Jangmo A, Welch E, Wiklund C, von Hausswolff‐Juhlin Y, Norring C, Herman BK, Larsson H, Bulik CM. Binge‐eating disorder in the Swedish national registers: Somatic comorbidity. International Journal of Eating Disorders. 2017 Jan;50(1):58-65.
6. Hudson JI, Lalonde JK, Coit CE, Tsuang MT, McElroy SL, Crow SJ, Bulik CM, Hudson MS, Yanovski JA, Rosenthal NR, Pope Jr HG. Longitudinal study of the diagnosis of components of the metabolic syndrome in individuals with binge-eating disorder. The American journal of clinical nutrition. 2010 Jun 1;91(6):1568-73.
7. Andersen ST, Strandberg‐Larsen K, Skovgaard AM, Rimvall MK, Meyer LB, Olsen EM. Comparison of prevalence and mental health problems across symptom frequency of self‐reported symptoms of binge‐eating disorder in a community sample of adolescents. International Journal of Eating Disorders. 2023 Oct;56(10):1947-60.
8. Santos Ferreira DL, Hübel C, Herle M, Abdulkadir M, Loos RJ, Bryant-Waugh R, Bulik CM, De Stavola BL, Lawlor DA, Micali N. Associations between blood metabolic profile at 7 years old and eating disorders in adolescence: Findings from the avon longitudinal study of parents and children. Metabolites. 2019 Sep 19;9(9):191.
9. Pawaskar M, Witt EA, Supina D, Herman BK, Wadden TA. Impact of binge eating disorder on functional impairment and work productivity in an adult community sample in the United States. International journal of clinical practice. 2017 Jul;71(7):e12970.
10. Streatfeild J, Hickson J, Austin SB, Hutcheson R, Kandel JS, Lampert JG, Myers EM, Richmond TK, Samnaliev M, Velasquez K, Weissman RS. Social and economic cost of eating disorders in the United States: Evidence to inform policy action. International Journal of Eating Disorders. 2021 May;54(5):851-68.
11. Olsen EM, Koch SV, Skovgaard AM, Strandberg‐Larsen K. Self‐reported symptoms of binge‐eating disorder among adolescents in a community‐based Danish cohort—A study of prevalence, correlates, and impact. International Journal of Eating Disorders. 2021 Apr;54(4):492-505.
12. Sonneville KR, Horton NJ, Micali N, Crosby RD, Swanson SA, Solmi F, Field AE. Longitudinal associations between binge eating and overeating and adverse outcomes among adolescents and young adults: does loss of control matter?. JAMA pediatrics. 2013 Feb 1;167(2):149-55.
13. Herle M, De Stavola B, Hübel C, Abdulkadir M, Ferreira DS, Loos RJ, Bryant-Waugh R, Bulik CM, Micali N. A longitudinal study of eating behaviours in childhood and later eating disorder behaviours and diagnoses. The British Journal of Psychiatry. 2020 Feb;216(2):113-9.
14. Micali N, Solmi F, Horton NJ, Crosby RD, Eddy KT, Calzo JP, Sonneville KR, Swanson SA, Field AE. Adolescent eating disorders predict psychiatric, high-risk behaviors and weight outcomes in young adulthood. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 2015 Aug 1;54(8):652-9.
15. Kjeldbjerg ML, Clausen L. Prevalence of binge-eating disorder among children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 2023 Apr;32(4):549-74.
16. McClelland J, Robinson L, Potterton R, Mountford V, Schmidt U. Symptom trajectories into eating disorders: A systematic review of longitudinal, nonclinical studies in children/adolescents. European Psychiatry. 2020 Jan;63(1):e60.
17. Goldschmidt AB, Wall MM, Zhang J, Loth KA, Neumark-Sztainer D. Overeating and binge eating in emerging adulthood: 10-year stability and risk factors. Developmental psychology. 2016 Mar;52(3):475.

Impact of research: 
The identification of distinct trajectories and outcomes of binge eating behaviour and disorder throughout adolescence and young adulthood will provide a unique understanding of patterns or paths of binge eating development, contributing to more effective prevention and treatment strategies, and by understanding how BED affects patients' quality of life and access to healthcare, opportunities can be identified to expand reach for this population and reduce future healthcare costs.
Date proposal received: 
Tuesday, 22 October, 2024
Date proposal approved: 
Tuesday, 22 October, 2024
Keywords: 
Mental health - Psychology, Psychiatry, Cognition, Behaviour - e.g. antisocial behaviour, risk behaviour, etc., Eating disorders - anorexia, bulimia, Mental health, Obesity, Statistical methods, Biological samples -e.g. blood, cell lines, saliva, etc., Biomarkers - e.g. cotinine, fatty acids, haemoglobin, etc., BMI, Development, Growth, Methods - e.g. cross cohort analysis, data mining, mendelian randomisation, etc., Physical - activity, fitness, function, Puberty, Statistical methods