BackgroundAvoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is a “new” diagnosis in the recently published DSM-5, but there is very little literature on patients with ARFID. Our objectives were to determine the prevalence of ARFID in children and adolescents undergoing day treatment for an eating disorder, and to compare ARFID patients to other eating disorder patients in the same cohort.MethodsA retrospective chart review of 7-17 year olds admitted to a day program for younger patients with eating disorders between 2008 and 2012 was performed. Patients with ARFID were compared to those with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and other specified feeding or eating disorder/unspecified feeding or eating disorder with respect to demographics, anthropometrics, clinical symptoms, and psychometric testing, using Chi-square, ANOVA, and post-hoc analysis.Results39/173 (22.5%) patients met ARFID criteria. The ARFID group was younger than the non-ARFID group and had a greater proportion of males. Similar degrees of weight loss and malnutrition were found between groups. Patients with ARFID reported greater fears of vomiting and/or choking and food texture issues than those with other eating disorders, as well as greater dependency on nutritional supplements at intake. Children’s Eating Attitudes Test scores were lower for children with than without ARFID. A higher comorbidity of anxiety disorders, pervasive developmental disorder, and learning disorders, and a lower comorbidity of depression, were found in those with ARFID.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that there are significant demographic and clinical characteristics that differentiate children with ARFID from those with other eating disorders in a day treatment program, and helps substantiate the recognition of ARFID as a distinct eating disorder diagnosis in the DSM-5.

BackgroundAvoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is a “new” diagnosis in the recently published DSM-5, but there is very little literature on patients with ARFID. Our objectives were to determine the prevalence of ARFID in children and adolescents undergoing day treatment for an eating disorder, and to compare ARFID patients to other eating disorder patients in the same cohort.MethodsA retrospective chart review of 7-17 year olds admitted to a day program for younger patients with eating disorders between 2008 and 2012 was performed. Patients with ARFID were compared to those with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and other specified feeding or eating disorder/unspecified feeding or eating disorder with respect to demographics, anthropometrics, clinical symptoms, and psychometric testing, using Chi-square, ANOVA, and post-hoc analysis.Results39/173 (22.5%) patients met ARFID criteria. The ARFID group was younger than the non-ARFID group and had a greater proportion of males. Similar degrees of weight loss and malnutrition were found between groups. Patients with ARFID reported greater fears of vomiting and/or choking and food texture issues than those with other eating disorders, as well as greater dependency on nutritional supplements at intake. Children’s Eating Attitudes Test scores were lower for children with than without ARFID. A higher comorbidity of anxiety disorders, pervasive developmental disorder, and learning disorders, and a lower comorbidity of depression, were found in those with ARFID.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that there are significant demographic and clinical characteristics that differentiate children with ARFID from those with other eating disorders in a day treatment program, and helps substantiate the recognition of ARFID as a distinct eating disorder diagnosis in the DSM-5.

Our findings suggest that patients with ARFID can be successfully treated in the same PHP as patients with other ED, with comparable improvements in weight and psychopathology over a shorter time period. Results are limited to patients with ARFID who exhibit an acute onset of severe food restriction. Future research should incorporate measures relevant to the diagnosis of ARFID and explore how patients with different ARFID subtypes may respond to various treatments.

Objective Although multiple studies find that offspring of depressed mothers are at risk for depressive disorders, there is uncertainty about the specific mechanisms that are at work — particularly with respect to modifiable factors that might be targeted for early intervention. The present work examines parenting behaviors may operate as mediators, moderators, or independent influences on the development of youth depressive symptoms. Methods One hundred one mothers and their early adolescent children participated in positive and negative interaction tasks. Maternal and youth self-reports of youth depressive symptoms were collected at baseline, nine-month, and eighteen month assessments. Results Maternal history of depression was significantly associated with maternal-, but not youth self-reported depressive symptomatology. Maternal positive and negative interaction behaviors in positive contexts were associated with higher youth self-reported depressive symptoms. Maternal positive interaction behaviors in positive contexts and maternal negative interactive behaviors in conflict contexts were associated with higher youth self-reported depressive symptoms. We found no evidence for maternal interaction behaviors serving as a mediator and little evidence of maternal interaction behaviors serving as a moderator of the relationship between maternal and offspring depression. Conclusions Low maternal positive engagement tended to be more consistently associated with maternal- and self-reported youth depressive symptoms. The present findings suggest that characteristics of mother-child interactions that are associated with youth depressive symptomatology are pertinent to youth with and without a mother with a history of depression.

No abstract