Alexithymia and metabolic syndrome: the mediating role of binge eating
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Alexithymia and metabolic syndrome: the mediating role of binge eating Chiara Conti1 · Giulia Di Francesco1 · Melania Severo1 · Roberta Lanzara2 · Katie Richards3 · Maria Teresa Guagnano4 · Piero Porcelli1 Received: 16 March 2020 / Accepted: 11 July 2020 © The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Purpose Alexithymia, a personality trait characterized by difficulties in emotional processing, has been associated with unhealthy behaviors and chronic medical conditions. This study aimed to further develop our understanding of this complex relationship by investigating whether alexithymia increases the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in participants with obesity or overweight through the mediating role of binge eating (BE). Methods A consecutive sample of 238 treatment-seeking patients with obesity or overweight were recruited. Alexithymia (TAS-20), binge eating symptoms (BES), body mass index (BMI), and depression and anxiety symptoms (HADS) were concurrently assessed. Results Almost half of the participants met the criteria for MetS (44.12%). Compared to patients without MetS, those with MetS were older, had a longer duration of overweight, and had a higher BMI (p D; C > D B > D; C > D – A > B; A > D A > D; C > D
BE Binge eating; BMI Body Mass Index; DDF difficulty describing feelings; DIF difficulty identifying feelings; EOT externally orientated thinking; HADS‐A Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale‐anxiety subscale; HADS‐D Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale‐depression subscale; MetS Metabolic Syndrome a
Patients with MetS and BE,
b c
Patients with MetS and without BE
Patients without MetS and with BE
d
Patients without MetS and BE
Table 3 Zero-order correlations between socio-demographic, clinical and psychological variables of the study sample Variable
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
1. Age 2. Duration of overweight 3. BMI 4. BES 5. HADS-A 6. HADS-D 7. TAS Total score 8. DIF 9. DDF 10. EOT
– 0.83*** − 0.03 − 0.14* − 0.02 − 0.02 0.17** 0.11 0.13* 0.17**
– 0.11 − 0.02 0.04 0.03 0.22*** 0.17* 0.18** 0.18**
– 0.15* 0.08 0.08 0.09 0.17** 0.09 − 0.07
– 0.33*** 0.35*** 0.30*** 0.32*** 0.23*** 0.11
– 0.49*** 0.31*** 0.33*** 0.32** 0.04
– 0.43*** 0.46*** 0.33*** 0.17**
– 0.86*** 0.82*** 0.63***
– 0.63*** 0.26***
– 0.34***
–
All value are standardized regression weights BES Binge Eating Scale; BMI Body Mass Index; DDF difficulty describing feelings; DIF difficulty identifying feelings; EOT externally orientated thinking; HADS‐A Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale‐anxiety subscale; HADS‐D Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale‐depression subscale; TAS-20 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale
*
p
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