Binge Eating Disorder: A Stable Syndrome?

In order to assess the stability of binge eating disorder, the authors of a recent study interviewed 888 first-degree relatives of 300 obese or overweight probands—150 with binge eating disorder, 150 with no lifetime eating disorder. Researchers then compared the total duration of illness among the relatives who had lifetime binge eating disorder (N=131), bulimia nervosa (N=17), and anorexia nervosa (N=18). The mean lifetime duration of binge eating disorder was 14.4 years, markedly longer than for bulimia nervosa (mean=5.8 years), or anorexia nervosa (mean=5.9 years), suggesting that binge eating disorder represents a stable syndrome. This study was published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/163/12/2181

-LS