Preliminary Evidence of the Association Between Binge Eating and Preeclampsia in Pregnant U.S. Military Active-Duty Service Women

Objectives: Binge eating is the most common disordered eating behavior among pregnant women. This study examined the association of binge-eating frequency with the presence of a self-reported current preeclampsia diagnosis in a sample of U.S. military active-duty Service women. Methods: Active-duty Service women (N = 134), 20–27 weeks gestation, completed an online survey assessing binge eating (number of episodes in the past 28 days), preeclampsia diagnosis, sociodemographics, pregnancy-related variables, and perceived stress. Firth logistic regression models evaluated the associations between binge-eating frequency and preeclampsia and between stress and preeclampsia, adjusting for relevant covariates and controlling for multiple comparisons. Results: A total of 91 (67.9%) participants reported experiencing at least one objective binge-eating episode in the past 28 days, and 11 (8.2%) reported a current preeclampsia diagnosis. Evaluated in separate models, both binge-eating frequency and stress were significantly associated with preeclampsia, adjusting for gestational weight gain. Specifically, for each additional binge-eating episode a participant reported, their odds of having a preeclampsia diagnosis were 14% higher (p = 0.008), and for every one unit increase in stress, the odds of having a preeclampsia diagnosis were 38% higher (p = 0.007). Discussion: Results indicated that a substantial majority of pregnant active-duty Service women in this sample reported binge eating. Binge eating and stress were both associated with increased odds of preeclampsia. While these relationships need further exploration, identifying high levels of stress or binge eating early in pregnancy could be an important addition to screening and prenatal care.