A Scoping Review on the Association between Night Eating Syndrome and Physical Health, Health-Related Quality of Life, Sleep and Weight Status in Adults

Abstract

Night eating syndrome (NES) is characterised by recurrent episodes of night eating, evident through excessive food consumption after the evening meal or eating after awakening from sleep, often associated with significant distress and/or impairment in functioning. This scoping review was conducted according to PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for Scoping Reviews) guidelines. The search was conducted through the use of PubMed, Medline (OVID) and SCOPUS, to identify relevant articles published within the last 10 years. Search terms including “Night eating*” OR “NES” and Boolean phrases were used to refine the search. Additionally, the age of participants was restricted to 18 years and above, to ensure only adult participants were included. The abstracts of the remaining articles were used to screen for those that were relevant. From a total of 663 citations, 30 studies assessing night eating syndrome met the inclusion criteria to be included in the review. We found inconsistent associations of NES with higher body mass index (BMI), less physical activity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and poorer quality of sleep. These inconsistencies may have been due to the use of different measurement methods, lack of power from small sample sizes of NES in some studies and varying ages of participants, with associations being more likely to be found in higher-quality, representative populations than in university student samples. There were no associations of NES with T2DM in clinical populations and with hypertension, OSA and metabolic syndrome, but sample sizes were small. The impacts of NES on these medical conditions should be addressed in future, using well-sized and long-term studies involving representative populations of adults. In conclusion, NES likely has negative impacts on BMI, T2DM, physical activity, and sleep quality, which in turn may increase cardio-metabolic risk. However, further research is needed to elucidate the interaction between NES and its associated features.

The current status and challenges of perioperative management of patients with a BMI of greater than or equal to 50 kg/m2 undergoing bariatric surgery in China: a multicenter cross-sectional study

“…The patients with a BMI of greater than or equal to 50 kg/m 2 often have high prevalence of OSA, cardiac insufficiency, hypertension, diabetes 17 . So the surgeons were most concerned about respiratory and heart failure, extubation failure under anaesthesia, difficulty in surgical operation, and so on.…”

Beat the Clock: Assessment of Night Eating Syndrome and Circadian Rhythm in a Sample of Greek Adults

“…Research has revealed that more than half (55%) of individuals with obesity seeking bariatric surgery report NES symptoms [ 51 ]. Although a greater NES prevalence exists in patients with obesity (10.1–27%) [ 44 , 52 , 53 , 54 ], not all individuals with NES symptomatology are, in fact, obese [ 48 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 ]. Furthermore, research using the NEQ has revealed a greater NES prevalence among patients with mental illness (25%) [ 62 ].…”

“…As per Plano et al [ 78 ], several ED aspects appear to be mediated by the circadian system, including mood, meal timing, compulsive behavior and sleep quality. In particular, most patients suffering from NES tend to exhibit an evening chronotype, with greater insomnia disturbances, reported poor sleep [ 94 , 95 ], lower sleep efficacy [ 94 ] and sometimes even sleep apnea [ 58 ]. Due to these confluences, some researchers argue that it is not clear if NES consists of a psychiatric disorder, a sleep disorder, a delayed circadian eating rhythm or simply a metabolic condition with sleep and mental health aspects [ 95 ].…”

Association of participants who screened positive for night eating syndrome with physical health, sleep problems, and weight status in an Australian adult population

“…Consequently, individuals with NES often experience significant distress and/or impairments in normal functioning [ 3 , 4 , 6 ]. With a prevalence of 1.5% in the general population of the United States [ 9 ], NES creates a substantial burden to the healthcare system, detrimentally impacting quality of life and increasing morbidity [ 4 , 6 , 8 , 10 , 11 ].…”

“…Currently, inconsistent evidence exists regarding the impact of NES on body mass index (BMI; kg/m 2 ), physical health and sleep [ 4 , 6 – 8 , 11 – 13 ]. Additionally, a majority of the research on NES has been conducted within clinical settings [ 14 – 16 ] or in adolescent populations [ 17 – 19 ].…”