Introduction: Binge eating disorder (BED) is the most prevalent eating disorder in individuals with obesity. Its association with factors that control hunger and satiety has not yet been elucidated. We evaluated whether levels of inflammatory markers, frequency of psychiatric comorbidities, and appetite-related hormones levels differ between individuals with obesity with and without BED.
Subjects and methods: The Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 - Clinician Version (SCID-5-CV), Binge Eating Scale, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were evaluated in 39 individuals with obesity. Plasma levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), leptin, ghrelin, and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) were measured.
Results: Individuals of the BED group exhibited significantly higher percentages of altered eating patterns (hyperphagia, bingeing, post-dinner eating, feeling "stuffed", and emotional eating), higher depressive symptom scores and levels of leptin, CRP, and TNF-α, compared to those from the non-BED group. Logistic regression showed that BED was independently associated with depressive symptoms and CRP levels.
Conclusion: Individuals with obesity and BED showed greater psychiatric comorbidity, worse eating patterns and worse inflammatory profile than those without BED. BED should be assessed as an indicator of clinical severity in patients with obesity.
Keywords: Binge eating disorder; depression; inflammation; leptin; obesity.