Alexithymia is not related to severity of night eating behavior: A useful distinction from other eating disorders

Vinai, Piergiuseppe; Provini, Federica; Antelmi, Elena; Marcatelli, Marco; Cardetti, Silvia; Vinai, Luisa; Vinai, Paolo; Bruno, Cecilia; Speciale, Maurizio; Allison, Kelly C.

doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2015.01.012

Cited by 10 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…The remaining 22 studies ( * Cleator et al, 2013 , 2014 ; * Dalle Grave et al, 2013 ; * Roer et al, 2014 ; * Baldofski et al, 2015 ; * McCune and Lundgren, 2015 ; * Royal et al, 2015 ; * Vander Wal et al, 2015 ; * Vinai et al, 2015a , b ; * Dorflinger et al, 2017 ; * Ferreira Pinto et al, 2017 ; * Nasirzadeh et al, 2018 ; * Zengin-Eroglu et al, 2018 ; * Loddo et al, 2019 ; * Tu et al, 2019 ; * Zickgraf et al, 2019 ; * Kara et al, 2020 ; * Latzer et al, 2020a , b ; * Uncu et al, 2020 ; * Ivezaj et al, 2021 ) were included in the systematic review for extraction of data (see Figure 1 for the overview of the study selection).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Night Eating Syndrome in Patients With Obesity and Binge Eating Disorder: A Systematic Review

et al. 2022

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Night eating syndrome (NES) is currently classified as an Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED) under the Diagnostic Statistical Manual−5 (DSM-5). This systematic review aims to consolidate the studies that describe the sociodemographic, clinical and psychological features of NES in a population of patients with eating disorders (ED), obesity, or those undergoing bariatric surgery, and were published after the publication of the DSM-5. A further aim was to compare, where possible, NES with BED on the aforementioned variables. Lastly, we aimed to appraise the quality of the studies being included in the review. We conducted a systematic search on three databases (MEDLINE, PubMed and Embase) which resulted in the selection of 22 studies for the review. We included the articles that studied patients with NES and their sociodemographic, clinical and psychological features in a clinical (i.e., ED, obese or bariatric surgery) population, through a quantitative study design. Articles were excluded if the NES patients included in the study had a comorbid psychological disorder, and/or the sample was collected from a university/non-clinical population, and/or the study design was qualitative, and/or NES features were compared with any other disorder, except BED. Our study found that no conclusions about the link between any sociodemographic feature (such as, age, gender, income, etc.) and an NES diagnosis could be made. Further, NES patients presented with elevated ED pathology (including emotional eating and loss of control eating) and higher occurrence of depressive symptoms than controls. Contrary to the literature suggesting that NES and Binge Eating Disorder (BED; an ED subtype which is also comorbid with obesity) patients often report overlapping features, questioning the validity of NES as an ED diagnosis, we found that BED can be differentiated from NES by the higher occurrence of emotional eating, body related concerns and abnormal eating episodes. The review also suggested an overlap between NES and Sleep-Related Eating Disorder. We recommend that it is essential to study NES as an independent disorder to further develop its diagnostic criteria and treatment options, thereby, increasing the quality of life of the patients suffering from this syndrome.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, a study by * Vinai et al (2015b) revealed that the NES group displayed higher scores on alexithymia (i.e., the personality trait linked to the inability to identify and describe one's own emotions) than controls.…”

Section: Sociodemographic Features and Clinical Presentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Night Eating Syndrome in Patients With Obesity and Binge Eating Disorder: A Systematic Review

et al. 2022

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“…NES is associated with increased food intake, causing unwanted weight gain and obesity (Gluck, Venti, Salbe, Votruba, & Krakoff, 2011); hence, this condition may be a pathway to obesity (Marshall, Allison, O'Reardon, Birketvedt, & Stunkard, 2004) NES has been described as a unique combination of an eating disorder, a sleep disorder and a mood disorder (Lundgren, et al, 2006;Lundgren, Allison, O'Reardon & Stunkard, 2008). Stunkard and colleagues (1955) reported a relationship between NES and low mood, but otherwise, associations between NES and psychological distress within the literature remain relatively underdeveloped (Allison et al, 2010;Vinai et al, 2015). Current research indicates that individuals with NES are significantly more likely than controls to meet diagnostic criteria for depression and anxiety disorder (Calugi, Dalle Grave, & Marchesini, 2009;Lundgren, Allison, O'Reardon & Stunkard, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why I eat at night: A qualitative exploration of the development, maintenance and consequences of Night Eating Syndrome

et al. 2018

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Night Eating Syndrome (NES), as a diagnosis, presents as a combination of disordered eating, sleep and mood. Patients identified as having both NES and obesity demonstrate poorer outcomes in terms of weight loss compared to those with NES only. However, research focusing on psychological factors associated with NES remains relatively underdeveloped. This study aimed to explore the relationship between NES and the experience of emotion from the perspective of patients accessing a weight management service. Ten adults who met diagnostic criteria for moderate or full NES took part in a semi-structured interview. Data were analysed using a constructivist approach to grounded theory. A core concept to emerge from the analysis was termed 'emotional hunger'; reflecting an urge or need to satiate a set of underlying unmet emotional needs. It was underpinned by the following interrelated themes: (1) Cultivating a dependency on food; (2) Relying on food to regulate emotions; (3) Understanding the significance of night-time; (4) Acknowledging the consequences of night eating. This study provides an in-depth understanding of the relationship between NES and the experience of emotion from the perspective of patients attending a weight management service. Results have potential to inform future service development, particularly around the adoption of a more holistic approach to night eating behaviours.

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“…Although these studies proposed a multidimensional structure for the NEQ-14, they all proposed calculation and use of a global score. In Italy, a version of the NEQ-14 has been used in correlational studies (e.g., Dalle Grave et al, 2013; Vinai et al, 2015), and only recently have factor structure and psychometric properties been investigate (Aloi et al, 2017). Aloi et al (2017) submitted an Italian version of the NEQ-14 to 574 adults and evaluated the fit of a hierarchical model consistent with the model tested by Allison et al (2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preliminary Validation of the Italian Night Eating Questionnaire (I-NEQ-16): Item Analysis and Factor Structure

et al. 2018

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Night eating syndrome (NES) severity is usually assessed with the Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ). Although the most common version of the NEQ is composed of 14 items (NEQ-14), two additional items measuring distress associated with the night eating have been proposed, but they have never been included in past psychometric studies. The aim of the present study was to create an Italian version of the NEQ-16 (I-NEQ-16), with the inclusion of the proposed items for assessing the distress associated with night eating. A major objective of the study was to propose a unidimensional version of the I-NEQ-16 and investigate its psychometric properties. 482 Italian adults (380 women and 102 men; mean age = 25.5, SD = 10.9 years old) were administered the Italian versions of the NEQ, the Night Eating Diagnostic Questionnaire (NEDQ), and questionnaires measuring binge eating, emotional and external eating, diurnal chronotype, insomnia, and anxiety and depression severity. In order to improve the unidimensionality of the I-NEQ-16, we removed from further analyses items 1, 4, and 7, because they increased the heterogeneity of the measure. Confirmatory factor analysis, indicated the fit of a modified one-factor model, allowing correlated errors between three pairs of items. I-NEQ-16 scores were significantly associated with all concurrent questionnaire scores and were able to categorize individuals according to their diagnosis of NES according to the NEDQ. Thus, the I-NEQ-16 is a valid measure that is potentially useful for investigating correlates of night eating in the general population.

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Alexithymia is not related to severity of night eating behavior: A useful distinction from other eating disorders

Cited by 10 publications

References 46 publications

Night Eating Syndrome in Patients With Obesity and Binge Eating Disorder: A Systematic Review

Night Eating Syndrome in Patients With Obesity and Binge Eating Disorder: A Systematic Review

Why I eat at night: A qualitative exploration of the development, maintenance and consequences of Night Eating Syndrome

Preliminary Validation of the Italian Night Eating Questionnaire (I-NEQ-16): Item Analysis and Factor Structure

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