Premium
Rates of abstinence following psychological or behavioral treatments for binge‐eating disorder: Meta‐analysis
Author(s) -
Linardon Jake
Publication year - 2018
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.22897
Subject(s) - abstinence , interpersonal psychotherapy , binge eating , randomized controlled trial , binge eating disorder , meta analysis , cognitive behavioral therapy , psychology , psychiatry , demographics , eating disorders , clinical psychology , medicine , bulimia nervosa , demography , sociology
Abstract Objective Standardized effect sizes reported in previous meta‐analyses of binge‐eating disorder (BED) treatment are sometimes difficult to interpret and are criticized for not being a useful indicator of the clinical importance of a treatment. Abstinence from binge eating is a clinically relevant component of a definition of a successful treatment outcome. This meta‐analysis estimated the prevalence of patients with BED who achieved binge eating abstinence following psychological or behavioral treatments. Method This meta‐analysis included 39 randomized controlled trials, with 65 treatment conditions and 2,349 patients. Most conditions comprised cognitive‐behavioral therapy ( n = 40). Pooled event rates were calculated at posttreatment and follow‐up using random effects models. Results The total weighted percentage of treatment‐completers who achieved abstinence at posttreatment was 50.9% (95% CI = 43.9, 57.8); this estimate was almost identical at follow‐up (50.3%; 95% CI = 43.6, 56.9). The total weighted percentage of patients who achieved abstinence at posttreatment in the intention‐to‐treat analysis (all randomized patients) was 45.1% (95% CI =40.7, 49.5), and at follow‐up it was 42.3% (95% CI =37.5, 47.2). Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) produced the highest abstinence rates. Clinician‐led group treatments produced significantly higher posttreatment (but not follow‐up) abstinence estimates than guided self‐help treatments. Neither timeframe for achieving abstinence, assessment type (interview/questionnaire), number of treatment sessions, patient demographics, nor trial quality, moderated the abstinence estimates. Discussion The present findings demonstrate that 50% of patients with BED do not fully respond to treatment. Continued efforts toward improving eating disorder treatments are needed.