Relation of binge eating age of onset to functional aspects of binge eating in binge eating disorder

• Published in: The International journal of eating disorders Vol. 35; no. 3; pp. 286 - 292
• Main Authors: Binford, Roslyn B., Pederson Mussell, Melissa, Peterson, Carol B., Crow, Scott J., Mitchell, James E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.04.2004; Wiley; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Affect; Age; Age of Onset; Anxiety; Binge eating; Biological and medical sciences; Body Mass Index; Bulimia - diagnosis; Bulimia - epidemiology; Depression - epidemiology; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Eating behavior disorders; eating disorder measures; Eating disorders; Female; Humans; Medical sciences; Miscellaneous; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Surveys and Questionnaires; Human; Symptomatology; Binge eating; Age of onset; Etiology; Evolution; Female; Eating disorder
• ISSN: 0276-3478; 1098-108X
• DOI: 10.1002/eat.10272

Objective This study examined whether age of binge eating onset in binge eating disorder (BED) is related to affective binge eating antecedents and consequences. Method Participants included women (N = 44) with BED who participated in a group cognitive‐behavioral therapy (CBT) study. Measures included the Eating Hedonics Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire Negative Emotionality factor, Restraint Scale, Three‐Factor Eating Questionnaire Restraint factor, and Eating Behaviors‐IV. Participants were classified according to reported age of binge eating onset, with early onset defined as ≤13 years (EOB; n = 25) and later onset >13 years (LOB; n = 19). Results Compared with LOB, EOB was associated with reductions in postbinge subjective anxiety, but not depression. Discussion This study suggested that EOB in BED may be associated with binge eating as an affective means of coping, particularly with anxiety, and further supported age of binge eating onset as a clinically meaningful way to delineate BED subclassifications. © 2004 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 35: 286–292, 2004.