title: Is nocturnal eating in restless legs syndrome linked to a specific psychopathological profile? A pilot study.
abstract: The purpose of the study was to evaluate psychological comorbidity in drug-naive or drug-free primary restless legs syndrome (p-RLS) patients with nocturnal eating disorder (NED), and to analyze the association of comorbid p-RLS and NED with obsessive-compulsive, mood and anxiety symptoms, and personality. Participants comprised 20 consecutive female outpatients with p-RLS, 10 without NED and 10 with NED, and 10 female controls matched for age. Both patients and controls were evaluated by the Hamilton Depression and the Anxiety Rating Scales, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Maudsley Obsessive Compulsive Inventory and the temperament and character inventory-revised. Compared to controls, p-RLS patients without and with NED had higher trait anxiety and current anxiety and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. p-RLS patients with NED also had significantly higher doubting compared to p-RLS patients without NED. Furthermore, groups differed for harm avoidance (HA), with p-RLS patients with and without NED having higher scores than controls. Untreated p-RLS patients, particularly those with nocturnal eating, report anxiety and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, perceive stressful situations as dangerous and threatening and tend to respond with anxiety to such situations. They have higher tendency to respond intensely to aversive stimuli, inhibiting behavior to avoid punishment, novelty, and frustrative omission of expected rewards. We hypothesize that higher levels of HA, a biologically determined personality trait, might constitute a diathesis predisposing individuals to display obsessive-compulsive symptoms, namely increasingly severe compulsive nocturnal eating.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marconi
authors.affiliation: Community Mental Health Service, Department of Mental Health, Santa Maria della Scaletta Hospital, Imola, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabiano
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Scarlatti
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rizzo
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Antelmi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Innamorati
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pompili
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brugnoli
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, Section of Psychiatry, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Martino
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Belvederi Murri
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, Section of Psychiatry, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amore
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy. federica.provini@unibo.it.|IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences of Bologna, Bellaria Hospital, Via Altura, 3, 40139, Bologna, Italy. federica.provini@unibo.it.
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Provini
mesh_terms: D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D010045:Outpatients; D010556:Personality Tests; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012148:Restless Legs Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D013694:Temperament
keywords: Character; Nocturnal eating; Obsessivity; Restless legs syndrome; Sleep-related eating disorders; Temperament