An open trial for adults in a residential program for binge eating spectrum disorders.

The current study assessed treatment outcome for 99 adult admissions to a residential program specifically designed for binge eating spectrum disorders (BESD). Participants completed self-report measures at admission, discharge, and 12-month follow-up and were asked to complete blood draws at admission and follow-up. Primary outcomes were eating behaviors; secondary outcomes included comorbid symptoms and physiological variables. Eating behaviors improved significantly from admission to follow-up, as did most comorbid symptoms and quality of life, despite no change in body mass index. Some variables displayed a curvilinear relationship, with some worsening of symptoms from discharge to follow-up, although scores at follow-up remained well below admission values. Participation in the treatment program was associated with reduced problematic eating and comorbid symptoms and increased quality of life up to one year after discharge. Findings from this study may encourage the development of similar residential treatment programs for BESD for those who have not responded to outpatient care or mixed milieu settings, and may prompt randomized studies testing similar treatments versus usual care.

Treatment Outcome for Adults in a Residential Program for Binge Eating Spectrum Disorders: Protocol for a Prospective Pragmatic Single-Arm Trial.

BACKGROUND: Most studies reporting treatment outcomes for eating disorders at higher levels of care focus on anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. No studies have been published with a singular focus on examining treatment outcomes for adults receiving residential programming specifically designed for the treatment of binge eating spectrum disorders (BESD), including binge eating disorder and bulimia nervosa. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is to outline the protocol of a prospective study examining treatment outcomes at discharge and 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month postdischarge follow-up, for a sample of consecutive admissions to a residential program specifically for patients with BESD. METHODS: One hundred consecutive admissions to a binge eating treatment program were enrolled in the prospective single-arm trial between January 2019 and February 2020. Data were collected at admission, discharge, and 3, 6, and 12 months postdischarge, with admission, discharge, and 12-month follow-up as the major timepoints of interest. Results across the major timepoints will be analyzed with mixed effects general linear models. RESULTS: The primary aim is to assess the impact of the program on eating disordered behaviors at discharge and 12-month follow-up, which are hypothesized to improve as a result of treatment. Secondary hypotheses include improvements on comorbid symptoms, including trauma, depression, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, as well as improvements on medical indicators of health, including cholesterol and triglycerides, at discharge and 12-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: This study may aid in the development of treatment guidelines for patients with BESD at higher levels of care and lend support to having specialty treatment programs for patients with BESD. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/32270.