Body dissatisfaction, abnormal eating behaviours and eating disorder attitude in homo- and heterosexuals.

OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between sexual orientation and disordered eating attitudes and behaviours in a sample of homosexuals and heterosexuals subject. METHODS: We screened 110 homosexuals (85 males and 25 females) and 121 heterosexuals (85 males and 36 females) by means of: a) an ad hoc socio-demographic schedule; b) the Eating Disorders Inventory 2 (EDI 2); the Eating Disorders Inventory 2 - Symptom Checklist (EDI-SC); the Body Uneasiness Test (BUT). RESULTS: Male homosexuals obtained much higher scores than male heterosexuals on the EDI 2 Drive for thinness, Bulimia, Ineffectiveness, Interoceptive awareness, Impulse regulation scales and on all the BUT subscales. Similarly, with regard to eating behaviours, a significantly higher frequency in the use of strategies to compensate weight increase was observed. On all these scales the sample of homosexual males did not show any significant differences from the group of hetero- and homosexual women. The male homosexuals who claimed they were not in a stable relationship scored higher in all the variables considered. DISCUSSION: Our findings seem to suggest that homosexual orientation is associated with greater body dissatisfaction and abnormal eating behaviours in males, in particular among those who claimed they were not in a sentimental relationship.

Eating disorder attitude and abnormal eating behaviours in a sample of 11-13-year-old school children: the role of pubertal body transformation.

OBJECTIVE: A cross sectional study was performed to evaluate the presence, in a sample of subjects in the age of pubertal transition, of those psychological characteristics and abnormal eating behaviours, which are generally considered the predictors of eating disorders (EDs) in adolescence. The primary aim of our study was to evaluate the presence of EDs-related psychological traits and of abnormal eating behaviours, in a wide sample of natural 11-13-year-old population, and to determine if, in this period of transition, there are the same differences between males and females, which are related to the ED psychological characteristics that are often observed and assessed in samples of adolescents or young adults; our secondary aim was to evaluate, in the female sample, if and how the episode of menarche, and the related pubertal body transformation, play a role in the development of ED symptomatology. METHOD: We screened 2925 school children by means of an ad-hoc socio-demographic schedule, the EDI 2 and the EDI-Symptom Checklist questionnaires. We compared each EDI 2 scales score (Mann-Whitney U) and the abnormal eating behaviours (chi(2) analyses) between pre- and post-menarche female subjects, for each age subgroup. RESULTS: Fourteen percent of the entire sample scored higher than the cut-off value at the EDI 2 drive for thinness scale and have to be considered at risk for an ED onset. The EDI 2 scores and the adoption of abnormal eating behaviour increase, in the female population, depending on whether they have had menarche. In the male sample the mean values at EDI 2 scales decrease with increasing age. DISCUSSION: The abnormal eating behaviours and the psychological ED attitude are widespread even among a "cross-pubertal" population. Our data confirm the differences between male and female subjects at the EDs attitude, suggesting a strong relation in the female children between the pubertal body transformation and the risk of ED onset.

Aggressive behavioral characteristics and endogenous hormones in women with Bulimia nervosa.

Increased aggressiveness frequently occurs in patients with bulimia nervosa (BN), but its neurobiological correlates have been poorly investigated. In this study, we investigated possible relationships between such clinical measure and blood levels of endogenous hormones in patients with BN. Morning plasma levels of testosterone, 17beta-estradiol, prolactin (PRL) and cortisol were measured in 33 bulimic women and 22 healthy female controls. The eating-related psychopathology, depression and aggressiveness were rated by specific psychometric scales. Bulimic patients showed decreased plasma levels of PRL and 17beta-estradiol, and increased concentrations of cortisol and testosterone. Moreover, patients scored higher than healthy controls on rating scales assessing eating-related psychopathology, depressive symptoms and aggressiveness. A significant positive correlation was found between testosterone plasma levels and aggressiveness in patients but not in controls. These findings suggest that in BN, increased plasma levels of testosterone may play a role in the modulation of aggressiveness.

Full-syndrome, partial-syndrome and subclinical eating disorders: an epidemiological study of female students in Southern Italy.

We screened a sample of 919 female students, aged 13-19 years, by means of the EDI 2 and GHQ-28 questionnaires. Those students identified as being at risk for an eating disorder (281 subjects) underwent a psychiatric interview. We found 2 cases of full-syndrome anorexia nervosa (0.2%), 21 cases of full-syndrome bulimia nervosa (2.3%) and 2 cases of full-syndrome binge-eating disorder (0.2%). Moreover, 35 girls (3.8%) met the criteria for partial-syndrome and 98 girls (10.7%) fulfilled the criteria for subclinical eating disorders. Subjects with partial-syndrome and subclinical eating disorders had higher scores than those with no diagnosis, but lower scores than students with full-syndrome eating disorders, on both the EDI 2 and GHQ-28 questionnaires. A follow-up of subjects with partial-syndrome and subclinical eating disorders is now in progress.

An epidemiological study on eating disorders in two high schools in Naples.

In this study, we investigated the prevalence of full syndrome (FS), partial syndrome (PS) and subclinical syndrome (SCS) eating disorders in a sample of 356 high school girls. We identified two cases of anorexia nervosa (0.56%), 14 of bulimia nervosa (3.94%) and one of binge eating disorder (0.28%) according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)-IV. Moreover, 17 girls (4.77%) were recognized as PS cases and 49 (13.7%) as SCS cases. A follow-up is now ongoing to explore the clinical evolution of partial and subclinical syndromes.