Comparison in decision-making between bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and healthy women: influence of mood status and pathological eating concerns

Junko Matsumoto; Yoshiyuki Hirano; Noriko Numata; Daisuke Matzuzawa; Shunichi Murano; Koutaro Yokote; Masaomi Iyo; Eiji Shimizu; Michiko Nakazato

doi:10.1186/s40337-015-0050-6

Comparison in decision-making between bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and healthy women: influence of mood status and pathological eating concerns

J Eat Disord. 2015 Apr 2:3:14. doi: 10.1186/s40337-015-0050-6. eCollection 2015.

Authors

Junko Matsumoto¹, Yoshiyuki Hirano², Noriko Numata³, Daisuke Matzuzawa⁴, Shunichi Murano⁵, Koutaro Yokote⁶, Masaomi Iyo⁷, Eiji Shimizu⁸, Michiko Nakazato⁹

Affiliations

¹ United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University and University of Fukui, Suita, Japan ; Research Center for Child Mental Development, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan ; Department of Regional Disaster Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan ; Tochigi Shimotsuga General Hospital, Tochigi Medical Center, Tochigi, Japan.
² United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University and University of Fukui, Suita, Japan ; Research Center for Child Mental Development, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
³ Research Center for Child Mental Development, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan ; Department of Cognitive Behavioral Physiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
⁴ United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University and University of Fukui, Suita, Japan ; Department of Cognitive Behavioral Physiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
⁵ Tochigi Shimotsuga General Hospital, Tochigi Medical Center, Tochigi, Japan.
⁶ Department of Clinical Cell Biology and Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
⁷ Department of Child Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan ; Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan ; Center for Forensic Mental Health, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
⁸ United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University and University of Fukui, Suita, Japan ; Research Center for Child Mental Development, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan ; Department of Cognitive Behavioral Physiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
⁹ United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University and University of Fukui, Suita, Japan ; Research Center for Child Mental Development, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan ; Department of Child Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.

Abstract

Background: Decision-making is reported to be impaired in anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN), but the influence of mood status, pathophysiological eating, and weight concerns on the performance of decision-making ability between AN and BN is still unclear. The aims of this study were to investigate differential impairments in the decision-making process between AN, BN, and healthy controls (HC), and secondly, to explore the role of mood status, such as anxiety, depression, pathological eating, and weight concerns, in decision-making ability.

Methods: Patients suffering from AN (n = 22), BN (n = 36) and age-matched HC (n = 51) were assessed for their decision-making abilities using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). Self-reported questionnaires including the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q), the Bulimia Investigatory Test, Edinburgh (BITE), the Eating Disorders Inventory, the Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory measuring obsessive-compulsive traits, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale were used to assess pathological eating concerns and attitude to feelings.

Results: Significant differences in IGT performance were observed between BN and HC. Significant negative correlation was found between IGT performance and the BITE symptom subscale in AN. In BN, there was a negative correlation between the EDE-Q weight concerns subscale and IGT performance. It was also found that increased anxiety, depression, and eating/weight concerns predicted poorer decision-making.

Conclusion: Different patterns of association between pathological eating concerns/behaviors and performances in decision-making ability were found between AN, BN, and HC. Anxiety, depressive mood status, and eating/weight concerns were related to decision-making ability.

Keywords: Anorexia nervosa; Anxiety; Bulimia nervosa; Decision-making; Depressive mood; Iowa Gambling Task; Weight-concern.