Comportamento anoréxico e percepção corporal em universitários

OBJETIVO: Avaliar a percepção corporal e a prevalência de sintomas de anorexia nervosa em estudantes universitários. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal, no qual a seleção da amostra foi realizada por conveniência. Aplicou-se o questionário teste de atitudes alimentares (EAT- 26) e teste de imagem corporal, para avaliar os sintomas de anorexia nervosa e a percepção corporal, respectivamente. Para a análise estatística dos dados utilizou-se o teste binomial para verificar a existência de associação entre as variáveis qualitativas. RESULTADOS: Participaram do estudo 149 estudantes de nutrição e 78 estudantes de educação física. Observou-se que 10,3% e 14,1% dos estudantes de educação física e nutrição, respectivamente, apresentaram fatores de risco para desenvolver anorexia nervosa e o teste de imagem corporal evidenciou proporções elevadas de insatisfação com a forma corporal, em ambos os cursos: 75,8% e 78,2% para os cursos de nutrição e educação física, respectivamente. CONCLUSÃO: Os estudantes de nutrição mostraram maior tendência de apresentar comportamento de risco para anorexia nervosa, com predominância no sexo feminino. Além disso, os resultados evidenciaram proporções elevadas de insatisfação com a imagem corporal, em ambos os cursos. Estes resultados são preocupantes, tendo em vista que são futuros profissionais que possuem papel fundamental na detecção e, no caso do nutricionista, no manejo destes distúrbios.

Transtornos alimentares e gestação: uma revisão

OBJETIVO: Estudar o impacto dos transtornos alimentares nas funções reprodutivas, problemas na gestação e puerpério, e dificuldades com a alimentação dos filhos. MÉTODOS: Realizou-se revisão da literatura nos últimos 28 anos nos bancos de dados MedLine e Lilacs. Combinaram-se os descritores anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, transtornos alimentares e gestação. RESULTADOS: Os estudos de revisão, estudos de caso e pesquisas realizadas com gestantes apontam uma associação entre TA e uma variedade de complicações na gestação, no parto, para o feto, com aumentado risco de morbidade perinatal, além de complicações na alimentação futura da criança. CONCLUSÕES: Observa-se uma maior necessidade de acompanhamento especializado, principalmente no pré-natal, em relação aos hábitos alimentares e preocupação com peso e forma corporais - especialmente nas mulheres que apresentam ganho ponderal inadequado, hiperêmese gravídica, picacismo, entre outros.

A Brazilian version of the "Children's Interview for Psychiatric Syndromes" (ChIPS)

OBJETIVE: The advance of research in child and adolescent psychiatry in Brazil heavily depends on the existence of instruments for the investigation of psychiatric syndromes adapted to Brazilian Portuguese. METHODS: This article describes a careful process of translation of the Children's Interview for Psychiatric Syndromes for the purpose of use in research in Brazil. The Children's Interview for Psychiatric Syndromes has a version for parents (P-ChIPs) and a version for children (ChIPS). In this article, the sections of P-ChIPS referring to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional-defiant disorder, conduct disorder, mania/hypomania, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and psychotic disorders were translated to Brazilian Portuguese. The sections of the ChIPS referring to substance use disorders, social anxiety disorder, specific phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disoder, separation anxiety disorder, post-traumatic disorders and depression/dysthimia were also adapted. Each section was translated by two independent translators and later discussed in a committee composed of experts in the field of Psychiatry and a professional of the field of linguistics. RESULT: A final version containing an interview for the main psychiatric syndromes was defined. CONCLUSION: The translated P-ChIPS is a helpful instrument in children and adolescent clinical evaluation.

Emetofobia: revisão crítica sobre um transtorno pouco estudado

INTRODUÇÃO: A emetofobia ou fobia de vômitos - que inclui o medo excessivo de vomitar ou de ver outras pessoas vomitando e pode ser desencadeado por estímulos internos e externos - é um transtorno mental complexo e pouco conhecido. OBJETIVO: Este estudo teve como objetivo levantar os conhecimentos disponíveis sobre diversos aspectos do quadro. MÉTODO: Revisão convencional da literatura dos últimos 30 anos utilizando como estratégia de busca as seguintes palavras-chave: "emetofobia", "emetofóbico", "medo de vomitar", "fobia de vomitar" e"fobia de vômito". Foram incluídos artigos sobre epidemiologia, fenomenologia, diagnóstico diferencial e tratamento da emetofobia, assim como artigos referidos nestes. RESULTADOS: Não há dados de prevalência na população geral e pouco se sabe sobre a etiologia da emetofobia. A maioria dos estudos aponta predominância no sexo feminino, início precoce e curso crônico. Os comportamentos de esquiva podem impactar negativamente a vida ocupacional, social e familiar. Os principais diagnósticos diferenciais são: transtorno de pânico com agorafobia, fobia social, anorexia nervosa e transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo. Estudos de tratamento se resumem a relatos de casos e não há ensaios clínicos controlados, mas intervenções cognitivo-comportamentais parecem ser promissoras. CONCLUSÃO: Mais estudos são necessários para melhor compreensão sobre a epidemiologia, o quadro clínico, a etiologia, a classificação e o tratamento da emetofobia.

Fatores associados a sintomas de transtornos alimentares entre escolares da rede pública da cidade do Salvador, Bahia

OBJETIVO: Identificar prevalência e fatores associados aos sintomas de transtornos alimentares entre escolares. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal envolvendo 365 escolares, de 7 a 14 anos de idade, do ensino fundamental de Salvador/BA. Aplicou-se nos escolares < 12 anos o Teste de Comportamentos Alimentares e Imagem Corporal e, naqueles > 13 anos de idade, o Teste de Atitudes Alimentares-26, o Teste de Investigação Bulímica de Edinburgh e o Teste de Imagem Corporal. O Child Behavior Checklist foi aplicado para todos os escolares. Coletaram-se dados antropométricos e alimentares, sobre estilo de vida, demográficos, socioeconômicos e puberais. Na análise estatística utilizou-se regressão de Poisson. RESULTADOS: Sintomas de transtornos alimentares estavam presentes em 23% dos escolares. Idade (RP: 1,25; IC95%: 1,11-1,40), insatisfação com imagem corporal (RP: 4,23; IC95%: 2,53-7,08), problema de comportamento de internalização (RP: 1,78; IC95%: 1,11-2,85), substituição das refeições por consumo de balas (RP: 2,14; IC95%: 1,24-3,69), maior consumo de frutas e outros vegetais (RP: 2,49; IC95%: 1,55-3,99) e escolaridade materna de 5ª a 8ª série (RP: 1,95; IC95%: 1,06-3,58) associaram-se ao aumento da ocorrência dos sintomas de transtornos alimentares. CONCLUSÃO: Observou-se alta prevalência de sintomas de transtornos alimentares entre os escolares; fatores sociodemográficos e comportamentais estavam associados ao evento.

Hospitalização integral para tratamento dos transtornos alimentares: a experiência de um serviço especializado

OBJETIVO: Descrever as características da hospitalização integral para o tratamento de transtornos alimentares em um serviço especializado de Ribeirão Preto, SP. MÉTODOS: Foram revisados todos os prontuários dos pacientes em seguimento pelo serviço, de 1982 até 2011, especialmente aqueles que tiveram indicação de internação integral. Foram coletados dados sociodemográficos e referentes ao diagnóstico. RESULTADOS: No período referido, 186 pacientes receberam atendimento pelo serviço e, desses, 44,6% (n = 83) foram internados para tratamento. Ao longo do tempo, houve redução na relação atendimento/internação, passando de 77,7% para 36,2% dos casos. A média de internações foi de 1,9 ± 3,9 vezes, e 73,5% (n = 61) dos pacientes foram hospitalizados apenas uma vez. A duração média da internação, independentemente do número de hospitalizações, foi de 70,6 ± 115,9 dias (variação de 3 a 804 dias). A predominância foi do sexo feminino, raça branca, solteira, sem filhos e com idade média de 23,3 ± 10,8 anos. O diagnóstico predominante foi de anorexia nervosa (85,5%), sobretudo em seu tipo restritivo (54,2%). As indicações mais frequentes para internação foram para realização de terapia nutricional (50,9%), seguida da investigação do quadro clínico (30,1%) e por causa de depressão e/ou ideação suicida (10,9%). CONCLUSÃO: A hospitalização integral é uma modalidade terapêutica necessária para o tratamento desses quadros, e sua frequência foi considerada significativa, porém diminuiu ao longo do tempo. Esse resultado pode ser explicado pela tendência de desospitalização a partir da reforma psiquiátrica, do diagnóstico e tratamento mais precoces e da experiência adquirida pelos profissionais do serviço ao longo dos anos.

Tratamento dos transtornos alimentares: fatores associados ao abandono

RESUMO Objetivos Traçar o perfil do abandono do tratamento de pacientes com transtornos alimentares (TA) em um serviço especializado e investigar os fatores associados. Métodos Estudo transversal com delineamento quantitativo do tipo comparativo. Todos os prontuários de pacientes atendidos pelo serviço, entre 1982 e 2013, foram revisados para coletar dados sociodemográficos, clínicos e antropométricos (no primeiro e último atendimento), e resultado do tratamento. Os dados foram analisados pelo programa SPSS e R. Foram utilizados testes qui-quadrado de Pearson, exato de Fisher, não paramétrico de Mann-Whitney e análise de regressão logística. Resultados Dos pacientes, 66,7% abandonaram o tratamento (Grupo Abandono – GA) e 33,3% tiveram outros resultados (Grupo Não Abandono – GNA). No GA, a maioria era do sexo feminino, de Ribeirão Preto e região, estudantes, solteiros, com escolaridade mínima do nível fundamental e com anorexia nervosa (AN). Houve associação significativa com o abandono nas variáveis Hipótese Diagnóstica (p = 0,049), Comorbidades Psiquiátricas (p = 0,001), Depressão (p = 0,048), Transtornos de Personalidade (p = 0,001), Comorbidades Clínicas (< 0,001) e Osteopenia (p = 0,007). No GA, eles tinham peso adequado e ausência de amenorreia, tanto no início quanto no final do seguimento. O estado nutricional adequado e a ausência de comorbidades clínicas se associaram com o abandono. Conclusões A taxa de abandono do serviço é alta e pacientes nessa condição eram adultos jovens, tinham diagnóstico de AN, longo tempo de sintomas antes do início do tratamento e estavam há menos de seis meses no seguimento. Estudos prospectivos poderão contribuir para pesquisas dirigidas ao abandono do seguimento desses pacientes, buscando melhor compreensão dessas doenças e seu tratamento.

Eating Disorder Services - Consultation Paper (PDF 98KB)

Eating disorders have one of the highest levels of mortality of any psychiatric illness. Around 0.6% of all those with anorexia nervosa die per year giving a cumulative life time mortality of between 5%-20%. Eating disorders are also associated with high levels of psychiatric and physical complications. The physical complications are often irreversible, lead to multiple medical investigations and have significant resource implications in their management. åÊ

Partial eating disorders among adolescents: a review.

PURPOSE: Many adolescents do not fulfill all the DSM-IV criteria's for anorexia nervosa and bulimia, but do nevertheless suffer from partial eating disorders (EDs). This review focuses on the definition, epidemiology and clinical aspects of these disorders. METHODS: Search on Medline & PsycINFO, review of websites, screening of bibliographies of articles and book chapters. RESULTS: There is still no consensus on the definition of these disorders, which cover a wide range of severity. Affected adolescents often suffer from physical and psychological problems owing to co-morbidity or as a consequence of their eating patterns: chronic constipation, dyspeptic symptoms, nausea, abdominal pain, fatigue, headaches, hypotension, menstrual dysfunction as well as dysthymia, depressive and anxiety disorders, or substance misuse and abuse. In comparison with those who are unaffected, adolescents with partial ED are at higher risk of evolving into full ED. However, most of them evolve into spontaneous remission. Adolescents with partial ED engaged, over a period of several months, in potentially unhealthy weight-control practices, suffering from intense fear of gaining weight and a disturbed body weight/image should be offered therapeutic support. CONCLUSION: Future research should focus on the exact delineation of various subtypes of clinical presentations in partial ED and on evidence-based treatment and follow-up of these various situations.

Endocannabinoid system and psychiatry: in search of a neurobiological basis for detrimental and potential therapeutic effects.

Public concern on mental health has noticeably increased given the high prevalence of neuropsychiatric disorders. Cognition and emotionality are the most affected functions in neuropsychiatric disorders, i.e., anxiety disorders, depression, and schizophrenia. In this review, most relevant literature on the role of the endocannabinoid (eCB) system in neuropsychiatric disorders will be presented. Evidence from clinical and animal studies is provided for the participation of CB1 and CB2 receptors (CB1R and CB2R) in the above mentioned neuropsychiatric disorders. CBRs are crucial in some of the emotional and cognitive impairments reported, although more research is required to understand the specific role of the eCB system in neuropsychiatric disorders. Cannabidiol (CBD), the main non-psychotropic component of the Cannabis sativa plant, has shown therapeutic potential in several neuropsychiatric disorders. Although further studies are needed, recent studies indicate that CBD therapeutic effects may partially depend on facilitation of eCB-mediated neurotransmission. Last but not least, this review includes recent findings on the role of the eCB system in eating disorders. A deregulation of the eCB system has been proposed to be in the bases of several neuropsychiatric disorders, including eating disorders. Cannabis consumption has been related to the appearance of psychotic symptoms and schizophrenia. In contrast, the pharmacological manipulation of this eCB system has been proposed as a potential strategy for the treatment of anxiety disorders, depression, and anorexia nervosa. In conclusion, the eCB system plays a critical role in psychiatry; however, detrimental consequences of manipulating this endogenous system cannot be underestimated over the potential and promising perspectives of its therapeutic manipulation.

The Endocannabinoid System as Pharmacological Target Derived from Its CNS Role in Energy Homeostasis and Reward. Applications in Eating Disorders and Addiction

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) has been implicated in many physiological functions, including the regulation of appetite, food intake and energy balance, a crucial involvement in brain reward systems and a role in psychophysiological homeostasis (anxiety and stress responses). We first introduce this important regulatory system and chronicle what is known concerning the signal transduction pathways activated upon the binding of endogenous cannabinoid ligands to the Gi/0-coupled CB1 cannabinoid receptor, as well as its interactions with other hormones and neuromodulators which can modify endocannabinoid signaling in the brain. Anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) are severe and disabling psychiatric disorders, characterized by profound eating and weight alterations and body image disturbances. Since endocannabinoids modulate eating behavior, it is plausible that endocannabinoid genes may contribute to the biological vulnerability to these diseases. We present and discuss data suggesting an impaired endocannabinoid signaling in these eating disorders, including association of endocannabinoid components gene polymorphisms and altered CB1-receptor expression in AN and BN. Then we discuss recent findings that may provide new avenues for the identification of therapeutic strategies based on the endocannabinod system. In relation with its implications as a reward-related system, the endocannabinoid system is not only a target for cannabis but it also shows interactions with other drugs of abuse. On the other hand, there may be also a possibility to point to the ECS as a potential target for treatment of drug-abuse and addiction. Within this framework we will focus on enzymatic machinery involved in endocannabinoid inactivation (notably fatty acid amide hydrolase or FAAH) as a particularly interesting potential target. Since a deregulated endocannabinoid system may be also related to depression, anxiety and pain symptomatology accompanying drug-withdrawal states, this is an area of relevance to also explore adjuvant treatments for improving these adverse emotional reactions.

Association of irisin with fat mass, resting energy expenditure, and daily activity in conditions of extreme body mass index.

FNDC5/irisin has been recently postulated as beneficial in the treatment of obesity and diabetes because it is induced in muscle by exercise, increasing energy expenditure. However, recent reports have shown that WAT also secretes irisin and that circulating irisin is elevated in obese subjects. The aim of this study was to evaluate irisin levels in conditions of extreme BMI and its correlation with basal metabolism and daily activity. The study involved 145 female patients, including 96 with extreme BMIs (30 anorexic (AN) and 66 obese (OB)) and 49 healthy normal weight (NW). The plasma irisin levels were significantly elevated in the OB patients compared with the AN and NW patients. Irisin also correlated positively with body weight, BMI, and fat mass. The OB patients exhibited the highest REE and higher daily physical activity compared with the AN patients but lower activity compared with the NW patients. The irisin levels were inversely correlated with daily physical activity and directly correlated with REE. Fat mass contributed to most of the variability of the irisin plasma levels independently of the other studied parameters. Conclusion. Irisin levels are influenced by energy expenditure independently of daily physical activity but fat mass is the main contributing factor.

Olfaction in eating disorders and abnormal eating behavior: a systematic review.

The study provides a systematic review that explores the current literature on olfactory capacity in abnormal eating behavior. The objective is to present a basis for discussion on whether research in olfaction in eating disorders may offer additional insight with regard to the complex etiopathology of eating disorders (ED) and abnormal eating behaviors. Electronic databases (Medline, PsycINFO, PubMed, Science Direct, and Web of Science) were searched using the components in relation to olfaction and combining them with the components related to abnormal eating behavior. Out of 1352 articles, titles were first excluded by title (n = 64) and then by abstract and fulltext resulting in a final selection of 14 articles (820 patients and 385 control participants) for this review. The highest number of existing literature on olfaction in ED were carried out with AN patients (78.6%) followed by BN patients (35.7%) and obese individuals (14.3%). Most studies were only conducted on females. The general findings support that olfaction is altered in AN and in obesity and indicates toward there being little to no difference in olfactory capacity between BN patients and the general population. Due to the limited number of studies and heterogeneity this review stresses on the importance of more research on olfaction and abnormal eating behavior.

Association of NTRK3 and its interaction with NGF suggest an altered cross-regulation of the neurotrophin signaling pathway in eating disorders

Eating disorders (EDs) are complex psychiatric diseases that include anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, and have higher than 50% heritability. Previous studies have found association of BDNF and NTRK2 to ED, while animal models suggest that other neurotrophin genes might also be involved in eating behavior. We have performed a family-based association study with 151 TagSNPs covering 10 neurotrophin signaling genes: NGFB, BDNF, NTRK1, NGFR/p75, NTF4/5, NTRK2, NTF3, NTRK3, CNTF and CNTFR in 371 ED trios of Spanish, French and German origin. Besides several nominal associations, we found a strong significant association after correcting for multiple testing (P = 1.04 × 10−4) between ED and rs7180942, located in the NTRK3 gene, which followed an overdominant model of inheritance. Interestingly, HapMap unrelated individuals carrying the rs7180942 risk genotypes for ED showed higher levels of expression of NTRK3 in lymphoblastoid cell lines. Furthermore, higher expression of the orthologous murine Ntrk3 gene was also detected in the hypothalamus of the anx/anx mouse model of anorexia. Finally, variants in NGFB gene appear to modify the risk conferred by the NTRK3 rs7180942 risk genotypes (P = 4.0 × 10−5) showing a synergistic epistatic interaction. The reported data, in addition to the previous reported findings for BDNF and NTRK2, point neurotrophin signaling genes as key regulators of eating behavior and their altered cross-regulation as susceptibility factors for EDs.

Are patterns of bone loss in anorexic and postmenopausal women similar? Preliminary results using high resolution peripheral computed tomography.

This study intended to compare bone density and architecture in three groups of women: young women with anorexia nervosa (AN), an age-matched control group of young women, and healthy late postmenopausal women. Three-dimensional peripheral quantitative high resolution computed-tomography (HR-pQCT) at the ultradistal radius, a technology providing measures of cortical and trabecular bone density and microarchitecture, was performed in the three cohorts. Thirty-six women with AN aged 18-30years (mean duration of AN: 5.8years), 83 healthy late postmenopausal women aged 70-81 as well as 30 age-matched healthy young women were assessed. The overall cortical and trabecular bone density (D100), the absolute thickness of the cortical bone (CTh), and the absolute number of trabecules per area (TbN) were significantly lower in AN patients compared with healthy young women. The absolute number of trabecules per area (TbN) in AN and postmenopausal women was similar, but significantly lower than in healthy young women. The comparison between AN patients and post-menopausal women is of interest because the latter reach bone peak mass around the middle of the fertile age span whereas the former usually lose bone before reaching optimal bone density and structure. This study shows that bone mineral density and bone compacta thickness in AN are lower than those in controls but still higher than those in postmenopause. Bone compacta density in AN is similar as in controls. However, bone inner structure in AN is degraded to a similar extent as in postmenopause. This last finding is particularly troubling.