Psychopathological Profile Associated with Food Addiction Symptoms in Adolescents with Eating Disorders

Abstract

Eating disorders are considered one of the psychiatric disorders with a higher risk of death. Food addiction, related to some food addictive-like behaviours, is often in comorbidity with eating disorders and is associated with worse psychopathology. The present study aims to outline the food addiction profile, investigated using the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (YFAS 2.0), in 122 adolescents (median age: 15.6 years) suffering from eating disorders and to investigate its association with psychopathology. Patients filled out the Youth Self Report, the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children 2, The Children Depression Inventory 2, and the Eating Disorder Inventory 3 (EDI-3). Pearson's chi-square test and multiple correspondence analysis were used to identify profiles. The mean symptom count was 2.8 ± 2.7. The "withdrawal" symptom was the most frequent (51%) and the most associated with clinical scores. The diagnosis of bulimia nervosa and the EDI-3 bulimia scale resulted to be the only variables to be associated with positive YFAS 2.0 symptoms. Conversely, anorexia nervosa, restrictive and atypical, was not associated with YFAS 2.0 symptoms. In conclusion, outlining the food addiction profile of eating disorders may give information about a patient's phenotype and could help to identify specific treatment models.

Keywords: YFAS 2.0; adolescence; anorexia nervosa; bulimia nervosa; eating disorders; food addiction; symptom count.

Figure 1

Multiple correspondence analysis between FA symptoms and ED diagnosis. As only one patient was diagnosed with binge eating disorder and one with binge purging-anorexia nervosa, these subgroups were excluded from the MCA analysis due to an insufficient number of patients. + and–correspond to positivity and negativity to FA symptoms, respectively. A-AN, atypical anorexia nervosa; ARFID, avoidant restrictive food intake disorder; BN, bulimia nervosa; ED-NOS, eating disorder not otherwise specified; EDs, eating disorders, R-AN, restrictive anorexia nervosa.

Figure 2

Multiple correspondence analysis using FA symptoms, ED diagnosis, and psychopathological scores. As only one patient was diagnosed with binge eating disorder and one with binge purging-anorexia nervosa, these subgroups were excluded from the MCA analysis due to an insufficient number of patients. + and - correspond to positivity and negativity to FA symptoms, respectively. A-AN, atypical anorexia nervosa; ARFID, avoidant restrictive food intake disorder; BN, bulimia nervosa; ED-NOS, eating disorder not otherwise specified; EDs, eating disorders, R-AN, restrictive anorexia nervosa.