Associations among alexithymia, disordered eating, and depressive symptoms in treatment-seeking adolescent military dependents at risk for adult binge-eating disorder and obesity

Alexander Rice; Jason M Lavender; Lisa M Shank; M K Higgins Neyland; Bethelhem Markos; Hannah Repke; Hannah Haynes; Julia Gallagher-Teske; Natasha A Schvey; Tracy Sbrocco; Denise E Wilfley; Brian Ford; Caitlin B Ford; Sarah Jorgensen; Jack A Yanovski; Mark Haigney; David A Klein; Jeffrey Quinlan; Marian Tanofsky-Kraff

doi:10.1007/s40519-022-01429-z

Associations among alexithymia, disordered eating, and depressive symptoms in treatment-seeking adolescent military dependents at risk for adult binge-eating disorder and obesity

Alexander Rice, Jason M Lavender, Lisa M Shank, M K Higgins Neyland, Bethelhem Markos, Hannah Repke, Hannah Haynes, Julia Gallagher-Teske, Natasha A Schvey, Tracy Sbrocco, Denise E Wilfley, Brian Ford, Caitlin B Ford, Sarah Jorgensen, Jack A Yanovski, Mark Haigney, David A Klein, Jeffrey Quinlan, Marian Tanofsky-Kraff

San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

PURPOSE: Evidence suggests that difficulties identifying and describing one's feelings, core components of alexithymia, are associated with attitudinal and behavioral symptoms of disordered eating; depressive symptoms also may underlie these associations. Specifically, research indicates that alexithymia is positively related to depressive symptoms, which in turn may promote both disordered-eating attitudes and certain disinhibited-eating behaviors (e.g., emotional eating). Findings also suggest that military-dependent youth with high weight may exhibit elevated depressive symptoms and disordered eating. As such, understanding associations among alexithymia, depressive symptoms, and disordered eating is particularly relevant for this vulnerable population.

METHODS: We examined 149 adolescent military dependents (14.4 ± 1.6y; 55.0% female; 20.0% non-Hispanic Black; BMIz: 1.9 ± 0.4) at high risk for binge-eating disorder and obesity in adulthood. Participants completed questionnaires assessing two components of alexithymia (difficulty identifying feelings [DIF] and difficulty describing feelings [DDF]), depressive symptoms, emotional eating, and trait anxiety; disordered-eating attitudes were assessed via semi-structured interview.

RESULTS: A series of regression-based models examined indirect relationships of DIF and DDF with disordered-eating attitudes and emotional eating through depressive symptoms. Bootstrapped 95% confidence intervals revealed a significant indirect path from each of the alexithymia components to disordered-eating attitudes via depressive symptoms; indirect paths to emotional eating were non-significant.

CONCLUSION: Results support the salience of depressive symptoms in the relationship between alexithymia and disordered-eating attitudes. Future research should utilize prospective designs and explore direct and indirect associations of alexithymia with other disordered-eating behaviors.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, evidence obtained from a well-designed cohort study.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	3083-3093
Number of pages	11
Journal	Eating and Weight Disorders
Volume	27
Issue number	8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-022-01429-z
State	Published - Dec 2022

Keywords

Adult
Humans
Adolescent
Female
Male
Binge-Eating Disorder/complications
Affective Symptoms/complications
Depression/complications
Military Personnel
Cohort Studies
Obesity/epidemiology
Feeding and Eating Disorders/complications

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10.1007/s40519-022-01429-z

Cite this

Rice, A., Lavender, J. M., Shank, L. M., Higgins Neyland, M. K., Markos, B., Repke, H., Haynes, H., Gallagher-Teske, J., Schvey, N. A., Sbrocco, T., Wilfley, D. E., Ford, B., Ford, C. B., Jorgensen, S., Yanovski, J. A., Haigney, M., Klein, D. A., Quinlan, J., & Tanofsky-Kraff, M. (2022). Associations among alexithymia, disordered eating, and depressive symptoms in treatment-seeking adolescent military dependents at risk for adult binge-eating disorder and obesity. Eating and Weight Disorders, 27(8), 3083-3093. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-022-01429-z

@article{95b77a18a33d4a439c9e93ead6c3ae65,

title = "Associations among alexithymia, disordered eating, and depressive symptoms in treatment-seeking adolescent military dependents at risk for adult binge-eating disorder and obesity",

abstract = "PURPOSE: Evidence suggests that difficulties identifying and describing one's feelings, core components of alexithymia, are associated with attitudinal and behavioral symptoms of disordered eating; depressive symptoms also may underlie these associations. Specifically, research indicates that alexithymia is positively related to depressive symptoms, which in turn may promote both disordered-eating attitudes and certain disinhibited-eating behaviors (e.g., emotional eating). Findings also suggest that military-dependent youth with high weight may exhibit elevated depressive symptoms and disordered eating. As such, understanding associations among alexithymia, depressive symptoms, and disordered eating is particularly relevant for this vulnerable population.METHODS: We examined 149 adolescent military dependents (14.4 ± 1.6y; 55.0% female; 20.0% non-Hispanic Black; BMIz: 1.9 ± 0.4) at high risk for binge-eating disorder and obesity in adulthood. Participants completed questionnaires assessing two components of alexithymia (difficulty identifying feelings [DIF] and difficulty describing feelings [DDF]), depressive symptoms, emotional eating, and trait anxiety; disordered-eating attitudes were assessed via semi-structured interview.RESULTS: A series of regression-based models examined indirect relationships of DIF and DDF with disordered-eating attitudes and emotional eating through depressive symptoms. Bootstrapped 95% confidence intervals revealed a significant indirect path from each of the alexithymia components to disordered-eating attitudes via depressive symptoms; indirect paths to emotional eating were non-significant.CONCLUSION: Results support the salience of depressive symptoms in the relationship between alexithymia and disordered-eating attitudes. Future research should utilize prospective designs and explore direct and indirect associations of alexithymia with other disordered-eating behaviors.LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, evidence obtained from a well-designed cohort study.",

keywords = "Adult, Humans, Adolescent, Female, Male, Binge-Eating Disorder/complications, Affective Symptoms/complications, Depression/complications, Military Personnel, Cohort Studies, Obesity/epidemiology, Feeding and Eating Disorders/complications",

author = "Alexander Rice and Lavender, {Jason M} and Shank, {Lisa M} and {Higgins Neyland}, {M K} and Bethelhem Markos and Hannah Repke and Hannah Haynes and Julia Gallagher-Teske and Schvey, {Natasha A} and Tracy Sbrocco and Wilfley, {Denise E} and Brian Ford and Ford, {Caitlin B} and Sarah Jorgensen and Yanovski, {Jack A} and Mark Haigney and Klein, {David A} and Jeffrey Quinlan and Marian Tanofsky-Kraff",

note = "{\textcopyright} 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.",

year = "2022",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1007/s40519-022-01429-z",

language = "English",

volume = "27",

pages = "3083--3093",

journal = "Eating and Weight Disorders",

issn = "1124-4909",

publisher = "Springer International Publishing",

number = "8",

}

Rice, A, Lavender, JM , Shank, LM, Higgins Neyland, MK, Markos, B, Repke, H, Haynes, H, Gallagher-Teske, J, Schvey, NA, Sbrocco, T, Wilfley, DE, Ford, B, Ford, CB, Jorgensen, S, Yanovski, JA, Haigney, M, Klein, DA, Quinlan, J & Tanofsky-Kraff, M 2022, 'Associations among alexithymia, disordered eating, and depressive symptoms in treatment-seeking adolescent military dependents at risk for adult binge-eating disorder and obesity', Eating and Weight Disorders, vol. 27, no. 8, pp. 3083-3093. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-022-01429-z

Associations among alexithymia, disordered eating, and depressive symptoms in treatment-seeking adolescent military dependents at risk for adult binge-eating disorder and obesity. / Rice, Alexander; Lavender, Jason M ; Shank, Lisa M et al.
In: Eating and Weight Disorders, Vol. 27, No. 8, 12.2022, p. 3083-3093.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Associations among alexithymia, disordered eating, and depressive symptoms in treatment-seeking adolescent military dependents at risk for adult binge-eating disorder and obesity

AU - Rice, Alexander

AU - Lavender, Jason M

AU - Shank, Lisa M

AU - Higgins Neyland, M K

AU - Markos, Bethelhem

AU - Repke, Hannah

AU - Haynes, Hannah

AU - Gallagher-Teske, Julia

AU - Schvey, Natasha A

AU - Sbrocco, Tracy

AU - Wilfley, Denise E

AU - Ford, Brian

AU - Ford, Caitlin B

AU - Jorgensen, Sarah

AU - Yanovski, Jack A

AU - Haigney, Mark

AU - Klein, David A

AU - Quinlan, Jeffrey

AU - Tanofsky-Kraff, Marian

PY - 2022/12

Y1 - 2022/12

N2 - PURPOSE: Evidence suggests that difficulties identifying and describing one's feelings, core components of alexithymia, are associated with attitudinal and behavioral symptoms of disordered eating; depressive symptoms also may underlie these associations. Specifically, research indicates that alexithymia is positively related to depressive symptoms, which in turn may promote both disordered-eating attitudes and certain disinhibited-eating behaviors (e.g., emotional eating). Findings also suggest that military-dependent youth with high weight may exhibit elevated depressive symptoms and disordered eating. As such, understanding associations among alexithymia, depressive symptoms, and disordered eating is particularly relevant for this vulnerable population.METHODS: We examined 149 adolescent military dependents (14.4 ± 1.6y; 55.0% female; 20.0% non-Hispanic Black; BMIz: 1.9 ± 0.4) at high risk for binge-eating disorder and obesity in adulthood. Participants completed questionnaires assessing two components of alexithymia (difficulty identifying feelings [DIF] and difficulty describing feelings [DDF]), depressive symptoms, emotional eating, and trait anxiety; disordered-eating attitudes were assessed via semi-structured interview.RESULTS: A series of regression-based models examined indirect relationships of DIF and DDF with disordered-eating attitudes and emotional eating through depressive symptoms. Bootstrapped 95% confidence intervals revealed a significant indirect path from each of the alexithymia components to disordered-eating attitudes via depressive symptoms; indirect paths to emotional eating were non-significant.CONCLUSION: Results support the salience of depressive symptoms in the relationship between alexithymia and disordered-eating attitudes. Future research should utilize prospective designs and explore direct and indirect associations of alexithymia with other disordered-eating behaviors.LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, evidence obtained from a well-designed cohort study.

AB - PURPOSE: Evidence suggests that difficulties identifying and describing one's feelings, core components of alexithymia, are associated with attitudinal and behavioral symptoms of disordered eating; depressive symptoms also may underlie these associations. Specifically, research indicates that alexithymia is positively related to depressive symptoms, which in turn may promote both disordered-eating attitudes and certain disinhibited-eating behaviors (e.g., emotional eating). Findings also suggest that military-dependent youth with high weight may exhibit elevated depressive symptoms and disordered eating. As such, understanding associations among alexithymia, depressive symptoms, and disordered eating is particularly relevant for this vulnerable population.METHODS: We examined 149 adolescent military dependents (14.4 ± 1.6y; 55.0% female; 20.0% non-Hispanic Black; BMIz: 1.9 ± 0.4) at high risk for binge-eating disorder and obesity in adulthood. Participants completed questionnaires assessing two components of alexithymia (difficulty identifying feelings [DIF] and difficulty describing feelings [DDF]), depressive symptoms, emotional eating, and trait anxiety; disordered-eating attitudes were assessed via semi-structured interview.RESULTS: A series of regression-based models examined indirect relationships of DIF and DDF with disordered-eating attitudes and emotional eating through depressive symptoms. Bootstrapped 95% confidence intervals revealed a significant indirect path from each of the alexithymia components to disordered-eating attitudes via depressive symptoms; indirect paths to emotional eating were non-significant.CONCLUSION: Results support the salience of depressive symptoms in the relationship between alexithymia and disordered-eating attitudes. Future research should utilize prospective designs and explore direct and indirect associations of alexithymia with other disordered-eating behaviors.LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, evidence obtained from a well-designed cohort study.

KW - Adult

KW - Humans

KW - Adolescent

KW - Female

KW - Male

KW - Binge-Eating Disorder/complications

KW - Affective Symptoms/complications

KW - Depression/complications

KW - Military Personnel

KW - Cohort Studies

KW - Obesity/epidemiology

KW - Feeding and Eating Disorders/complications

U2 - 10.1007/s40519-022-01429-z

DO - 10.1007/s40519-022-01429-z

M3 - Article

C2 - 35852767

SN - 1124-4909

VL - 27

SP - 3083

EP - 3093

JO - Eating and Weight Disorders

JF - Eating and Weight Disorders

IS - 8

ER -

Associations among alexithymia, disordered eating, and depressive symptoms in treatment-seeking adolescent military dependents at risk for adult binge-eating disorder and obesity

Abstract

Keywords

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