Obsessive–compulsive symptomatology in female adolescent inpatients with restrictive compared with binge–purge eating disorders

• Published in: European eating disorders review 2019-05, Vol.27 (3), p.224-235
• Main Authors: Lewis, Yael Doreen, Gilon Mann, Tal, Enoch‐Levy, Adi, Dubnov‐Raz, Gal, Gothelf, Doron, Weizman, Abraham, Stein, Daniel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: anorexia nervosa; bulimia nervosa; Eating disorders; Obsessive compulsive disorder; Teenagers
• ISSN: 1072-4133; 1099-0968
• DOI: 10.1002/erv.2638

Objective Strong relationships exist between obsessive–compulsive (OC) disorder and eating disorders (EDs). The aim of the study was to investigate whether OC symptoms would be expressed differently in different ED types. Method Ninety‐four female adolescent inpatients with restricting anorexia nervosa (AN‐R), 67 with binge/purge AN (AN‐B/P), and 48 with bulimia nervosa (BN) were assessed on admission and discharge using the Yale–Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale (Y‐BOCS), Yale–Brown–Cornell Eating Disorders Scale (YBC‐EDS), Eating Attitude Test—26 (EAT‐26), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Results On admission, patients with AN‐B/P exhibited higher scores on the Y‐BOCS, YBC‐EDS, EAT‐26, and BDI in comparison with patients with AN‐R or BN. A significant improvement on all psychometric variables from admission to discharge was found for all participants taken together. Nonetheless, patients with AN‐B/P and/or BN showed a greater improvement on Y‐BOCS, BDI, and STAI than patients with AN‐R, whereas no between‐group difference was found for YBC‐EDS and EAT‐26. Conclusions Obsessionality is more severe in acutely ill AN‐B/P patients than in patients with AN‐R and BN, whereas a greater improvement in obsessionality from the acutely ill to the stabilized ED condition is found in patients with binge/purge in comparison with restrictive pathology.