Obesity is a psychosomatic condition characterized by a complex interaction of biological and psychological factors and a large body of research has aimed to identify variables limiting efficacy and determining high attrition rates in weight loss programs. In this study, we used the Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research (DCPR), designed to broaden the clinician’s perspective on patients’ problems by providing additional clinical information not found in the more traditional psychiatric classification, to predict psychosomatic variables that may limit efficacy and determine attrition in clinical interventions with people with obesity. We evaluated 82 consecutive participants with obesity at baseline for psychopathology, psychosomatic correlates, psychological distress, and eating-related symptoms before entering a weight loss program. Regression models were used to assess attrition and outcome at a 6-month follow-up and per-protocol and intention-to-treat analyses were performed. DPCR alexithymia significantly predicted attrition (OR = 6.9), and unsuccessful weight-loss (OR = 11.3). These findings suggest that the identification of psychosomatic factors, in addition to psychological and psychopathological factors, may predict adherence to weight-loss programs.

Background The prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) diminishes the quality of life and increases the care burden in patients with dementia. Despite the clinical importance of dementia‐associated NPS, no protocols for treating NPS are already well established. Attention has turned to the effectiveness of nonpharmacological treatments for NPS since their potential safe alternative to pharmacotherapy. Objective This study is aimed to compare the effects in older individuals with dementia living in a residential care, of two intervention programs, the gesture‐verbal treatment (GVT), a treatment implemented by us on a previous method for word retrieval in individuals with aphasia, and the better‐known doll therapy (DT). The GVT would act on both receptive and expressive language skills, the DT on attachment and emotional connections. Methods We evaluated NPS by the neuropsychiatric inventory in a total of 30 patients divided into 3 groups, the GVT, the DT, and control groups, using a pre‐post design. The treatment groups completed 12‐week nonpharmacological interventions in addition to standard rehabilitative therapies, while the control group participated only in standard rehabilitative therapies. Results The DT group showed significant improvements in agitation, irritability, apathy, depression, and delusions relative to controls. The GVT group showed significant improvements in apathy and depression with respect to controls. The DT intervention ameliorated symptoms of agitation compared to the GVT intervention whereas the GVT intervention improved apathy compared to the DT intervention. Conclusion Improved understanding of the potential therapeutic benefits of different treatments for neuropsychiatric symptoms is crucial for establishing nonpharmacological interventions in dementia.

Emotional face recognition is impaired in bipolar disorder, but it is not clear whether this is specific for the illness. Here, we investigated how aging and bipolar disorder influence dynamic emotional face recognition. Twenty older adults, 16 bipolar patients, and 20 control subjects performed a dynamic affective facial recognition task and a subsequent rating task. Participants pressed a key as soon as they were able to discriminate whether the neutral face was assuming a happy or angry facial expression and then rated the intensity of each facial expression. Results showed that older adults recognized happy expressions faster, whereas bipolar patients recognized angry expressions faster. Furthermore, both groups rated emotional faces more intensely than did the control subjects. This study is one of the first to compare how aging and clinical conditions influence emotional facial recognition and underlines the need to consider the role of specific and common factors in emotional face recognition.