Global and Regional Economic Burden of Eating Disorders: A Systematic Review and Critique of Methods.

Objective: This systematic review aims to comprehensively examine up-to-date evidence on the economic burden of eating disorders (EDs), both globally and by region.

Methodology: A comprehensive search within five electronic databases, MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and EconLit, retrieved studies published from August 1, 2013, to June 30, 2024. Cost of illness (COI) studies, burden of disease, and other cost studies that reported costs in monetary values were included, and cost-effectiveness analysis studies were excluded.

Educating primary care physicians about eating disorders: Pilot data from a microlearning programme.

Background: Over two-thirds of people present to their primary care physician (or general practitioner; GP) as a first point of contact for mental health concerns. However, eating disorders (EDs) are often not identified in a primary care setting. A significant barrier to early detection and intervention is lack of primary care physician training in EDs; compounded by the significant time commitments required for training by already time-poor general practitioners.

Assessment and treatment of compulsive exercise in anorexia nervosa - A combined investigation of Compulsive Exercise Activity Therapy (LEAP) and Compulsive Exercise Test subscales.

Introduction: Compulsive exercise is a transdiagnostic feature of eating disorders which adversely affects aspects of recovery, such as length of hospitalisation, risk of a chronic outcome, and risk of relapse. CompuLsive Exercise Activity TheraPy (LEAP) aims to reduce compulsive exercise through a cognitive behavioural approach. This study aims to investigate the effect of LEAP on compulsive exercise behaviour using subscales of the Compulsive Exercise Test (CET), a measure of exercise in individuals with eating disorders.

The acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy of a supported online self-help treatment program for binge-eating disorder.

Introduction: Studies in transdiagnostic eating disorder (ED) samples suggest supported online self-help programs (eTherapies) are effective and may improve access to treatment; however, their evaluation in those with binge-eating disorder (BED) is limited. Given BED's high prevalence and low levels of treatment uptake, further eTherapy evaluation is needed to broaden access to effective, evidence-based treatment options. The aim of this study was to investigate the acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy of a supported eTherapy for those with BED or subthreshold BED, and to examine symptom change across the duration of therapy.

Psychotherapies for eating disorders: findings from a rapid review.

Background: Psychotherapy is considered central to the effective treatment of eating disorders-focusing on behavioural, psychological, and social factors that contribute to the illness. Research indicates psychotherapeutic interventions out-perform placebo, waitlist, and/or other treatments; but, outcomes vary with room for major improvement. Thus, this review aims to (1) establish and consolidate knowledge on efficacious eating disorder psychotherapies; (2) highlight select emerging psychotherapeutic interventions; and (3) identify knowledge gaps to better inform future treatment research and development.

Appraisal of the costs, health effects, and cost-effectiveness of screening, prevention, treatment and policy-indicated evidence-based interventions for eating disorders: a systematic review protocol.

Background: Having reliable information to make decisions about the allocation of healthcare resources is needed to improve well-being and quality-of-life of individuals with eating disorders (EDs). EDs are a main concern for healthcare administrators globally, particularly due to the severity of health effects, urgent and complex healthcare needs, and relatively high and long-term healthcare costs. A rigorous assessment of up-to-date health economic evidence on interventions for EDs is essential for informing decision-making in this area.

Epidemiology of eating disorders: population, prevalence, disease burden and quality of life informing public policy in Australia-a rapid review.

Background: Understanding of the epidemiology and health burden of eating disorders has progressed significantly in the last 2 decades. It was considered one of seven key areas to inform the Australian Government commissioned National Eating Disorder Research and Translation Strategy 2021-2031, as emerging research had highlighted a rise in eating disorder prevalence and worsening burden-of-illness. The aim of this review was to better understand the global epidemiology and impact of eating disorders to inform policy decision-making.

Asian students in the anglosphere - unravelling the unique familial pressures contributing to eating pathology: a systematic review.

Background: There is no clear consensus on the specific familial pressures affecting Asian students in the Anglosphere, despite the validation of the Tripartite Influence model of eating disturbances in this group. However, traditional familial risk factors for disordered eating can be elevated for immigrant Asians with collectivistic-oriented familial dynamics, necessitating an examination of the culture-specific risk profile for eating pathology in student-aged Asians. This systematic review aims to consolidate and critically examine the literature on the most widely studied familial pressures related to disordered eating in Asian students in the Anglosphere.

Impacts of paediatric chronic pain on parents: A qualitative study.

Background: Paediatric chronic pain adversely impacts the child's functioning, health-related quality of life and development. However, there is a need for a holistic assessment of parental impacts of caring for a child with chronic pain. This qualitative study aimed to investigate the possible psychosocial, functional and work impacts of caring for a child with chronic pain on parents, including any positive effects of the experience.

Setting the top 10 eating disorder research and translation priorities for Australia.

Objectives: People with eating disorders, as well as their caregivers, experience high symptom burden, reduced quality of life and increased risk of early mortality. A lack of resources, disjointed vision and limited uptake of the evidence have limited the translation and implementation of research into practice. Little is known about what stakeholders (people with a lived experience, caregivers, health care professionals, researchers and policymakers) see as the most important research priorities.

Measuring exercise in eating disorder patients: a Delphi study to aggregate clinical and research knowledge.

Background: Exercise is a prominent feature of most eating disorders, and has been shown to have a number of detrimental effects on treatment outcome. There is some disagreement in the literature regarding the construct of compulsive exercise, and assessment and treatment varies significantly. This study therefore aimed to aggregate expert clinicians' and researchers' views on how to define and measure compulsive exercise in eating disorder patients.

Evaluating the feasibility and potential efficacy of a brief eTherapy for binge-eating disorder: A pilot study.

Objective: For those with binge-eating disorder (BED), access to evidence-based, face-to-face treatment is often constrained by clinician availability and high treatment costs. Emerging evidence suggests online therapy (eTherapy) may navigate these barriers and reduce binge-eating symptomatology; however, less evaluation has been done in those with BED, particularly with briefer programs targeting early change. This study investigated the feasibility and potential efficacy of a brief, supported eTherapy in those with BED or subthreshold BED.

'In an otherwise limitless world, I was sure of my limit.' Experiencing Anorexia Nervosa: A phenomenological metasynthesis.

Anorexia Nervosa (AN) has the highest mortality rate of the mental disorders, with still less than 50% of affected individuals achieving recovery. Recent calls to bring innovative, empirical research strategies to the understanding of illness and its core psychopathological features highlight the need to address significant paucity of efficacious treatment. The current study brings a phenomenological approach to this challenge, synthesizing lived experience phenomena as described by qualitative literature.

The efficacy of family treatments for adolescent anorexia nervosa in specialist versus non-specialist settings: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is often diagnosed in adolescence, and most evidence-based treatments for AN in young people involve the family. Family therapies for AN are intensive, outpatient treatments that utilise the parents as the primary resource in the young person's recovery. Research regarding family treatment for AN is often conducted in specialist settings-with relatively little data reporting the translation of this specialised treatment into real-world, non-specialist settings.

Primary dysmenorrhoea in adolescents and young women: A twin family study of maternal transmission, genetic influence and associations.

Aims: The extent to which maternal transmission of primary dysmenorrhoea is genetically determined in adolescents and young women has yet to be determined. We aimed to assess heritability and associations relevant to primary pain syndromes using a twin family study.

Methods: Participants were young menstruating female twins, and their oldest sisters and mothers, whose families were registered with Twins Research Australia and previously participated in a twin family study of primary paediatric pain disorders.

Parent and Well-Sibling Communication in Families With a Child Who Has a Life-Limiting Condition: Quantitative Survey Data.

Objective: Living with a child with a life-limiting condition (LLC), for which there is no hope of cure and premature death is expected, places much stress on a family unit. Familial communication has the potential to serve as a buffer when children are faced with stressful situations. The overall aim of the study was to learn more about illness-related communication between parents and well-siblings, giving particular consideration to the amount of illness-related communication, and sibling satisfaction with familial communication.

Informing the development of Australia's National Eating Disorders Research and Translation Strategy: a rapid review methodology.

Background: Eating disorders (EDs) are highly complex mental illnesses associated with significant medical complications. There are currently knowledge gaps in research relating to the epidemiology, aetiology, treatment, burden, and outcomes of eating disorders. To clearly identify and begin addressing the major deficits in the scientific, medical, and clinical understanding of these mental illnesses, the Australian Government Department of Health in 2019 funded the InsideOut Institute (IOI) to develop the Australian Eating Disorder Research and Translation Strategy, the primary aim of which was to identify priorities and targets for building research capacity and outputs.

Living with a child who has a life-limiting condition: The functioning of well-siblings and parents.

Background: Living with a child who has a life-limiting condition (LLC) is likely to have a major impact on all family members. There is a need to have a clearer understanding of the nature and extent of this impact on parents and well-siblings. The current study aimed to investigate the psychosocial functioning of well-siblings and parents living with a child with an LLC.

Chew and spit (CHSP) in bariatric patients: a case series.

Background: Studies into the disordered eating behaviour of chew and spit have alluded to several cohorts more likely to engage in the behaviour, one such group being bariatric surgery candidates and patients. Weight-loss surgery candidates have received little to no attention regarding engaging in chew and spit behaviour. Changes in pre- and post- surgery eating pathology related to chew and spit behaviour has yet to be explored and described in academic literature.

Associations Between Defence-Style, Eating Disorder Symptoms, and Quality of Life in Community Sample of Women: A Longitudinal Exploratory Study.

Eating Disorders (EDs) impact an estimated 15% of the global population and are linked to maladaptive defence-styles (coping strategies) and poorer mental health outcomes. Defence-styles have been grouped into immature, neurotic, and mature behaviours. Studies have yet to examine all three defence-styles in ED symptomatic individuals over an extended period of time.

Multidimensional Self-report Assessment of Children's Acute Pain in an Inpatient Setting.

Objective: This study assessed the feasibility of administering a multidimensional, self-report pain assessment protocol to children in an inpatient, acute pain context, and sought insight into the interrelationships between sensory, affective, and evaluative pain dimensions.

Methods: A total of 132 children (5 to 16 y) experiencing acute pain were recruited from acute pain ward rounds or the short-stay surgical unit. A multidimensional self-report assessment protocol was administered, assessing pain intensity, pain-related affect, bother, perceived unfairness, and pain expectations (for tomorrow and in 1 wk).

Somatosensory Testing in Pediatric Patients with Chronic Pain: An Exploration of Clinical Utility.

We aimed to evaluate the utility of clinical somatosensory testing (SST), an office adaptation of laboratory quantitative sensory testing, in a biopsychosocial assessment of a pediatric chronic somatic pain sample (N = 98, 65 females, 7-18 years). Stimulus-response tests were applied at pain regions and intra-subject control sites to cutaneous stimuli (simple and dynamic touch, punctate pressure and cool) and deep pressure stimuli (using a handheld pressure algometer, and, in a subset, manually inflated cuff). Validated psychological, pain-related and functional measures were administered.

Contrasting painless and painful phenotypes of pediatric restless legs syndrome: a twin family study.

Objective: This study was designed to investigate painless and painful subsets of pediatric restless legs syndrome (RLS) for genetic influence and for associations with iron deficiency and common pediatric pain disorders.

Methods: In a twin family study, twins (3-18 years) and their oldest siblings, mothers and fathers completed questionnaires, assessing lifetime prevalence of RLS using current criteria, as well as history of iron deficiency and pediatric pain disorders. Subsets were categorized as RLS-Painless or RLS-Painful.