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Health‐service use in women with binge eating disorders
Author(s) -
Dickerson John F.,
DeBar Lynn,
Perrin Nancy A.,
Lynch Frances,
Wilson G.Terence,
Rosselli Francine,
Kraemer Helena C.,
StriegelMoore Ruth H.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/eat.20842
Subject(s) - binge eating , binge eating disorder , eating disorders , medicine , psychiatry , health care , medical record , binge drinking , randomized controlled trial , clinical trial , clinical psychology , psychology , bulimia nervosa , emergency medicine , poison control , injury prevention , economics , economic growth
Objective: To compare health‐care utilization between participants who met DSM‐IV criteria for binge eating disorder (BED) and those engaged in recurrent binge eating (RBE) and to evaluate whether objective binge eating (OBE) days, a key measurement for diagnosing BED, predicted health‐care costs. Method: We obtained utilization and cost data from electronic medical records to augment patient reported data for 100 adult female members of a large health maintenance organization who were enrolled in a randomized clinical trial to treat binge eating. Results: Total costs did not differ between the BED and RBE groups (β = −0.117, z = −0.48, p = .629), nor did the number of OBE days predict total costs (β = −0.017, z = −1.01, p = .313). Discussion: Findings suggest that the medical impairment, as assessed through health care costs, caused by BED may not be greater than impairment caused by RBE. The current threshold number of two OBE days/week as a criterion for BED may need to be reconsidered. © 2010 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 2011