Risk factors for addictive disorders: a discriminant analysis on 374 addicted and 513 nonpsychiatric participants.

Many common risk factors have been described in addictive disorders. Little is known about factors' respective contributions to discrimination of addicted and nonaddicted participants. Two large samples were compared including 513 nonpsychiatric participants and 374 addicted participants meeting the DSM-IV criteria for eating disorders, alcohol, or substance dependence.

Is major depressive episode related to anxiety disorders in anorexics and bulimics?

Objective: To determine whether the presence of anxiety disorders is related to depressive comorbidity in subjects with eating disorders (ED), while taking into account certain variables that may be related to depression (subjects' age, ED duration, prior incidents of anorexia nervosa in bulimic subjects, inpatient or outpatient status, nutritional state [as measured by body mass index]).

Method: We evaluated the frequency of depressive disorders in 271 subjects presenting with a diagnosis of either anorexia nervosa or bulimia, using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, DSM-IV version.

Results: A multivariate analysis reveals that anxiety disorders do not all have the same influence in terms of risk of onset of major depressive episode in anorexics and bulimics when adjusted on variables related to depression.

Depressive personality dimensions and alexithymia in eating disorders.

An association has been reported between high levels of alexithymia and depression in patients with eating disorders. This study has examined alexithymic features and depressive experiences in patients with DSM-IV eating disorder (restricting anorexia, n=105; purging anorexia, n=49; bulimia, n=98) and matched controls (n=279). The subjects were assessed with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20); the Beck Depression Inventory; and the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire, which defines two types of depressive personality style (dependent and self-critical).

Alexithymia, depressive experiences, and dependency in addictive disorders.

Alexithymia, depressive feelings, and dependency are interrelated dimensions that are considered potential "risk factors" for addictive disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between these dimensions and to define a comprehensive model of addiction in a large sample of addicted subjects, whether affected by an eating disorder or presenting an alcohol- or a drug use-related disorder. The participants in this study were gathered from a multicenter collaborative study on addictive behaviors conducted in several psychiatric departments in France, Switzerland, and Belgium between January 1995 and March 1999.

Depressive psychopathology and adverse childhood experiences in eating disorders.

Purpose: The aim of this paper was to investigate the diagnostic specificity of the self-critical and dependent depressive experiences in a clinical sample of eating disorder patients and to explore the impact of adverse childhood experiences on these dimensions of personality.

Method: A sample of 94 anorexic and 61 bulimic patients meeting DSM-IV criteria and 236 matched controls were assessed with the Depressive Experience Questionnaire (DEQ), the abridged version of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the AMDP Life Events Inventory. Subjects presenting a major depression or a comorbid addictive disorder were excluded from the sample using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI).

[Are anxiety disorders more frequent in subjects with eating disorders?].

Objective: We designed a controlled study comparing referred women with an eating disorder (ED) to a matched normal control group to answer the following questions: what are the frequencies of anxiety disorders (AD) in anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN), according to DSM-IV criteria? Are AD significantly more frequent among women with an ED than among women from the community?

Method: We assessed frequencies of six specific AD among 271 women with a current diagnosis of AN or BN and 271 controls, using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), French DSM-IV version.

Results: Seventy-one percent of both the AN and the BN subjects had a lifetime comorbidity with at least one AD, significantly more (p<0.001) than the percentage of controls with an AD.

[Relationships between alexithymia, depression and interpersonal dependency in addictive subjects].

In the scientific literature, the term of addiction is currently used to describe a whole range of phenomena characterized by an irresistible urge to engage in a series of behaviors carried out in a repetitive and persistent manner despite accruing adverse somatic, psychological and social consequences for the individual. It has been suggested that subjects presenting such behaviors would share specific features of personality which support the appearance or are associated with these addictive behaviors. Dimensions such as alexithymia and depression have been particularly well investigated.

Anxiety disorders in subjects seeking treatment for eating disorders: a DSM-IV controlled study.

Women who were referred with an eating disorder (ED) were compared with a matched normal control group to answer the following questions: What are the frequencies of anxiety disorders in cases of anorexia and bulimia nervosa diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria? Are anxiety disorders significantly more frequent among women with an eating disorder than among women from the community? We assessed the frequencies of six specific anxiety disorders among 271 women with a current diagnosis of anorexia or bulimia nervosa and 271 controls, using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview, French DSM-IV version. A lifetime comorbidity with at least one anxiety disorder was found in 71% of both the anorexic and the bulimic subjects, significantly higher than the percentage of controls with an anxiety disorder. The prevalence was significantly higher in the eating disorder groups than in controls for most types of anxiety disorder, and between 41.

Criterion validity of the interpersonal dependency inventory: a preliminary study on 621 addictive subjects.

The interpersonal dependency inventory comprised three subscales called Emotional reliance of another person (ER), lack of social self confidence (LSS) and Assertion of autonomy (AUT). Several formula have been developed for deriving whole-scale scores. The aim of the study on 621 addictive subjects was to determine the best formula using the DSM-IV dependent personality disorder as gold standard.

Comorbidity of dependent personality disorder and separation anxiety disorder in addictive disorders and in healthy subjects.

The aim of the study was to determine the comorbidity of dependent personality disorder (DPD) and separation anxiety disorder (SAD) in large nonclinical and clinical samples. Using a cross-sectional method, the relationship between these disorders was studied in 784 healthy subjects and in 708 subjects presenting with various addictive behaviors. DPD was significantly associated with SAD in healthy subjects, alcoholics, drug abusers and anorectic and bulimic patients.

[Alexithymia and alcohol dependence].

Alexithymia is a term introduced by Sifneos in 1973 to describe, initially in psychosomatic patients, the inability to recognize and to express emotions. Since 1973, alexithymia has been also described in alcohol dependence. A review of these studies is proposed with the results of our study from the INSERM network "Dependence".