Aberrant snacking patterns and eating disorders in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder.
BACKGROUND
Appetitive symptoms, particularly carbohydrate craving, have been shown to occur in patients whose conditions responded to treatment with drugs that enhance serotonin-mediated neurotransmission. This suggested that patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) who also frequently respond to serotonergic drugs also might have similar distributions of appetitive and eating patterns.


METHODS
A survey study of 170 OCD patients and 920 controls was conducted using a questionnaire that inquired about snacking behavior, including food preference, mood changes after eating, and previous diagnosis of eating disorders. The frequency responses in the two groups were tested for statistical significance.


RESULTS
Significant differences were found between the OCD and control groups with respect to the reported incidence of eating disorders, snacking patterns, and mood response to food.


CONCLUSIONS
This finding of different snacking patterns in OCD mirrors that found in other disorders that have been shown to be responsive to serotonergic drugs. The high incidence of carbohydrate snacking among OCD patients compared with the control group provides additional evidence that brain serotonin may be involved in this disorder.
Clinical Research Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge.
D A
DA
O'Rourke
J J
JJ
Wurtman
R J
RJ
Wurtman
R
R
Tsay
R
R
Gleason
L
L
Baer
M A
MA
Jenike
D000328:Adult; D015897:Comorbidity; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D012701:Serotonin / Q000502:physiology; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012737:Sex Factors
D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D012701:Serotonin; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors