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. 2014 Apr;47(3):244-51.
doi: 10.1002/eat.22212. Epub 2013 Nov 1.

The role of loss of control eating in purging disorder

K Jean Forney  1 , Alissa A Haedt-Matt, Pamela K Keel
Affiliations

The role of loss of control eating in purging disorder

K Jean Forney et al. Int J Eat Disord. 2014 Apr.

Abstract

Objective: Purging Disorder (PD), an Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (APA, 2013), is characterized by recurrent purging in the absence of binge eating. Though objectively large binge episodes are not present, individuals with PD may experience a loss of control (LOC) while eating a normal or small amounts of food. The present study sought to examine the role of LOC eating in PD using archival data from 101 women with PD.

Method: Participants completed diagnostic interviews and self-report questionnaires. Analyses examined the relationship between LOC eating and eating disorder features, psychopathology, personality traits, and impairment in bivariate models and then in multivariate models controlling for purging frequency, age, and body mass index.

Results: Across bivariate and multivariate models, LOC eating frequency was associated with greater disinhibition around food, hunger, depressive symptoms, negative urgency, distress, and impairment.

Discussion: LOC eating is a clinically significant feature of PD and should be considered in future definitions of PD. Future research should examine whether LOC eating better represents a dimension of severity in PD or a specifier that may impact treatment response or course.

Keywords: loss of control eating; purging; purging disorder; subjective binge.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of number of loss of control eating episodes over the past 28 days.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Overlapping features of bulimia nervosa, purging disorder, and non-eating disorder controls. Dashed lines represent hypothesized differences. Bold font indicates a feature of bulimia nervosa, underlined font indicates a feature of purging disorder, and italicized font indicates a feature of non-eating disordered controls. Multiple typographies (e.g. type both bolded and underlined) indicate the feature is common to both groups (e.g. bulimia nervosa and purging disorder). LOC = loss of control eating. PD = purging disorder. BN = bulimia nervosa.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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