Psychopathological characteristics of patients seeking for bariatric surgery, either affected or not by binge eating disorder following the criteria of the DSM IV TR and of the DSM 5

• New diagnostic criteria for Binge Eating Disorder (BED) are less restrictive
• We compared psychopathology of severe obese patients and of BED patients.
• We diagnosed BED patients following both the DSM IV TR and the DSM5 criteria
• The levels of psychopathology of the two categories of BED are very similar
• BED patients have higher levels of psychopathology than other severe obese patients

We evaluate whether there are any significant differences in psychopathology between severe obese patients affected by Binge Eating Disorder diagnosed following both the DSM IV TR and the DSM5 criteria, and severe obese patients not having an eating disorder.Method118 severe obese patients seeking treatment at a center for bariatric surgery in northern Italy were asked to take part in the current study for a period of six months. Average participant age was 44.27 years, SD 12.42. Age ranged from 18 to 67 years. Average patient BMI was 45.03, SD 7.11, ranging from 32.14 to 66.16 kg/m2. Seventy seven of the patients (65.3%) were females and 41 (34.7%) were males. BED diagnosis was determined following the diagnostic criteria of both the DSM IV TR and the DSM 5. The presence of other eating disorders was excluded through a clinical screening using the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI). Patient eating habits and the presence of emotional eating were appraised using the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire. Levels of depression and anxiety were evaluated using the Beck Depression Inventory and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory.Results57 out of 118 patients were found to be affected by BED following the DSM 5 criteria; among them 24 followed those of the DSM IV TR. BED patients scored higher on four subscales of the Eating Disorders Inventory: Drive for thinness (DT), Bulimia (B), Body dissatisfaction (BD) and Interoceptive awareness (IA) on the STAI and on the Disinhibition and Hunger subscales of the TFEQ.DiscussionThe results confirm the presence of high levels of psychopathology among patients diagnosed with BED, even if they have been diagnosed following the criteria of the DSM 5. There is a great overlap in psychopathology between BED patients diagnosed following the DSM IV TR and the DSM 5 criteria.