Gender differences of clinical manifestations in patients with eating disorders
10.3760/cma.j.cn113661-20231223-00259
- VernacularTitle:进食障碍患者临床表现的性别差异分析
- Author:
Liyun ZHENG
1
;
Chao CHEN
1
;
Darong ZHANG
1
;
Xueni LI
1
;
Qingmei KONG
1
;
Tianmei SI
1
Author Information
1. 北京大学第六医院 北京大学精神卫生研究所 国家精神心理疾病临床医学研究中心（北京大学第六医院）国家卫生健康委员会精神卫生学重点实验室（北京大学），北京100191
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Eating disorders;
Gender difference;
Body mass index;
Behavioral symptoms;
Psychological characteristics;
Network analysis
- From:
Chinese Journal of Psychiatry
2024;57(10):669-677
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To explore the gender differences in body mass index (BMI), behavioral symptoms, and psychological characteristics in patients with eating disorders (ED).Methods:A total of 986 ED patients, including 54 males and 932 females, who visited the Peking University Sixth Hospital from August 2008 to November 2015 were included in the study. A cross-sectional survey of ED-related clinical manifestations was conducted using the Eating Disorder Questionnaire (EDQ) and the Eating Disorder Inventory-1 (EDI-1). A 1∶4 propensity score matching was utilized to eliminate the potential effects of age and diagnostic category on the symptom presentation of ED patients. To further validate gender differences in symptoms, multiple linear regression was conducted. T-tests, rank sum tests, and chi-square tests were used to compare EDQ item data and EDI-1 scores between male and female ED patients. Network analysis was employed to identify the most critical symptoms of ED patients and compare them between genders.Results:After matching, 54 male and 213 female patients were included in the analysis. There were no statistically significant differences in age ( t=-0.02) and diagnostic composition (χ 2=0.28) between the groups (all P>0.05). The difference between desired and current BMI was significantly different between genders (1.3(-0.6, 3.2) kg/m 2 for males vs.-0.3(-2.3, 2.4) kg/m 2 for females; Z=-2.64, P<0.01), with males desiring a higher weight and females a lower weight. Fewer male ED patients chose to reduce staple food intake as a dieting method compared to females (41.5% (17/41) vs. 63.2% (117/185); χ 2=6.60, P=0.010). Males had lower scores than females for Drive for Thinness and Interoceptive Awareness ( Z=-3.19, -2.26, respectively; all P<0.05). After controlling for demographic variables and other factor scores, gender was found to significantly influence the Drive for Thinness factor score (β=3.10, P<0.001). Network analysis revealed that the core nodes for both male and female ED patients were Drive for Thinness and Interoceptive Awareness, consistent with the entire sample. Conclusions:Male ED patients exhibited a weaker motivation for thinness compared to female patients. In the symptom network analysis, Drive for Thinness and Interoceptive Awareness were identified as the most significant symptoms for both genders.
