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Disordered Eating, Body Dissatisfaction, and Psychological Distress in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

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Abstract

Little is known about eating attitudes and behaviors in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The aim of this study was to explore the extent of disordered eating behaviors in a sample of patients with IBD and the association between demographic and disease-related variables and disordered eating. One hundred nine adults completed questionnaires during an outpatient visit to an academic IBD center. Questionnaires included demographic and disease characteristics, the eating attitudes test (EAT-26), the Body Image Scale, and the Brief Symptom Inventory. On the EAT-26, 13% of patients met the screening cutoff whereby further evaluation for an eating disorder is recommended, and 81% of patients responded affirmatively to at least one item determined by study investigators to represent pathological eating attitudes. Elevated scores on the EAT-26 were associated with being female, underweight, having IBD diagnosed during childhood, psychological distress and body image disturbance. These findings indicate that many patients with IBD may struggle with maladaptive attitudes toward eating.

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Abbreviations

BIS:

Body Image Scale

BSI:

Brief Symptom Inventory

DSM-V:

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Addition

EAT-26:

Eating attitudes test

IBD:

Inflammatory bowel disease

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA

    Jamie Wabich & Emanuelle Bellaguarda

  2. Department of Public Health Science and Health Promotion, Loyola University Chicago Heath Sciences Division, Maywood, IL, USA

    Cara Joyce

  3. Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA

    Laurie Keefer

  4. Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL, USA

    Sarah Kinsinger

  5. Northwestern Medical Group of Northwestern University, 800 North Westmoreland Road, Suite 100, Lake Forest, IL, 60045, USA

    Jamie Wabich

Authors
  1. Jamie Wabich
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  2. Emanuelle Bellaguarda
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  4. Laurie Keefer
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  5. Sarah Kinsinger
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Correspondence to Jamie Wabich.

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Conflict of interest

Jamie Wabich, Emanuelle Bellaguarda, Cara Joyce, Laurie Keefer, Sarah Kinsinger declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights

The study was approved by the Northwestern University Institutional Review Board (IRB). All co-investigators underwent appropriate compliance and ethics training prior to the study onset. Confidentiality of patient information was ensured by means of multiple protocols, including using an anonymous survey format that did not ask questions regarding identifying information, storage of data on a secured drive, limitation of access to the database to co-investigators only, and privacy and ethical training of all members working with the data.

Informed Consent

The anonymous study was conducted under a waiver of documentation of informed consent. The first page of the study survey contained information about the study as well as a consent statement. The consent statement included a question confirming that the patient was over 18 years of age and a question asking the patient if he/she accepted or declined to complete the survey. The patient was advised to only complete the survey if he/she provided consent for the study. By marking “accept” on the paper consent form, the study subject consented to the study and was advised to proceed with the survey. This protocol was approved by the Northwestern University Institutional Review Board (IRB).

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Wabich, J., Bellaguarda, E., Joyce, C. et al. Disordered Eating, Body Dissatisfaction, and Psychological Distress in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). J Clin Psychol Med Settings 27, 310–317 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-020-09710-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-020-09710-y

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