title: Temperamental factors predict long-term modifications of eating disorders after treatment.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Eating Disorders (EDs) are complex psychiatric pathologies characterized by moderate to poor response to treatment. Criteria of remission and recovery are not yet well defined. Simultaneously, personality plays a key role among the factors that determine treatment outcome. The aim of the present research is to evaluate the possibility of temperamental and character traits to predict the long-term outcome of ED.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of 25 AN and 28 BN female patients were re-assessed face-to-face after a minimum 5-years-follow-up through SCID-I, EDI-2 and TCI-R. Regression Analyses were performed to ascertain the possibility of TCI-R dimensions at the first visit to predict the long-term outcome.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Clinical and psychopathological symptoms significantly decreased over the time and 23% of participants no longer received a categorical ED diagnosis after at least 5 years of follow-up. TCI-R dimensions failed to predict the absence of a DSM-IV-TR diagnosis in the long term, but Novelty Seeking, Harm Avoidance and Reward Dependence demonstrated to predict the clinical improvement of several EDI-2 scales.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results support the idea that temperamental dimensions are relevant to the long-term improvement of clinical variables of ED. Low Novelty Seeking is the strongest predictor of poor outcome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, Chair of Psychiatry, University Magna Graecia, Catanzaro, Italy. segura@unicz.it.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Segura-García
authors.forename: Dora
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chiodo
authors.forename: Flora
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sinopoli
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: De Fazio
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002605:Character; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013694:Temperament; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult