Citation

Forrest LN, Zuromski KL, Dodd DR, Smith AR. Int. J. Eat. Disord. 2016; 50(1): 40-49.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, 45056.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/eat.22582

PMID

27436659

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The relation between binge-eating disorder (BED) and suicidality (i.e., suicide ideation, plan, and/or attempt) has not been studied extensively, and it is unknown whether BED is uniquely associated with suicidality when adjusting for comorbid psychopathology. Moreover, the course of suicidality in BED has not been determined and it is unknown whether BED precedes suicidality or vice versa.

METHOD: A total of 10,123 adolescents and 2,980 adults from two nationally representative surveys were administered diagnostic interviews assessing psychopathology and suicidality, as well the retrospectively reported ages of onset.

RESULTS: Among adults and adolescents, BED was associated with elevated odds of suicide ideation, plan, and attempt at a univariate level, but BED was not associated with elevated odds of suicidality when adjusting for comorbid psychopathology. Kaplan-Meier estimates of temporal patterns displayed that most adolescents experienced suicidality onset following BED onset, whereas most adults experienced suicidality onset prior to BED onset.

DISCUSSION: BED, comorbid disorders, and suicidality share common factors and interrelations, and individuals with BED and comorbid disorders may be at particularly high risk for suicidal outcomes. The presence of BED in adolescence may serve as a marker for more severe symptomatology that precedes the occurrence of suicidality. Research is needed to understand how eating disorder symptoms, comorbid symptoms, and suicidality affect one another over time. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2016).

© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Language: en