Functional gastrointestinal symptoms and increased risk for orthorexia nervosa

Panna Gajdos,István Tóth-Király,Adrien Rigó,Nóra Román

doi:10.1007/s40519-021-01242-0

Abstract

PurposeRecent guidelines point out the possible risk for orthorexia nervosa in functional gastrointestinal disorders, however, to date, no study has investigated this association. The present study aimed to explore the potential relationship between irritable bowel syndrome-related functional gastrointestinal symptoms and certain maladaptive eating behaviours, such as symptoms of orthorexia nervosa and emotional eating.MethodsA sample of 644 Hungarian volunteers (Mage = 22.37; SDage = 3.95) completed a survey with the following questionnaires: the Rome IV Diagnostic Questionnaire (R4DQ) for adults—Irritable bowel syndrome module for the measurement of functional gastrointestinal symptoms, the Hungarian version of the ORTO-15 questionnaire (ORTO-11-Hu) to assess symptoms of orthorexia nervosa, the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ) Emotional Eating subscale to measure symptoms of emotional eating and the Short Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI) for the assessment of health anxiety. Spearman’s rank correlation was used to explore the associations between the measured variables, and structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed mediation models.ResultsFunctional gastrointestinal symptoms were positively related to symptoms of orthorexia nervosa and emotional eating. The relationship between functional gastrointestinal symptoms and symptoms of orthorexia nervosa was partially mediated by health anxiety, while the association between functional gastrointestinal symptoms and symptoms of emotional eating was partially mediated by symptoms of orthorexia nervosa.ConclusionOur findings highlight the possible risk for developing orthorexic symptoms in functional gastrointestinal symptoms, which could lead to other types of disordered eating patterns, such as emotional eating. The results also underscore the potential role of health anxiety in these relationships.Level of evidenceLevel V (descriptive cross-sectional study).

Highlights

According to a recently published study, the worldwide prevalence of functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) is more than 40% [1]
5.1% of the sample met the diagnostic criteria for irritable bowel syndrome, while 8.4% met the criteria for four components, and 20% met the criteria for three components of the criteria system
The mediation analysis was performed with adjustment for potential confounding factors, such as gender and body mass index (BMI)

Summary

Introduction

According to a recently published study, the worldwide prevalence of functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) is more than 40% [1]. These disorders are characterized by a complex etiology with no organic causes in the background, while functional alterations, central nervous system mechanisms, and psychological factors play a critical role in the onset and exacerbation of these conditions [2]. The firstline treatment of FGIDs aims to alleviate the symptoms, while general dietary and lifestyle interventions and specific elimination diets are advocated [3, 4] and have gained popularity among patients who often link their symptoms to consuming specific food [5, 6]. Some studies raise attention to the possible risks of rigid diets and food restrictions [11]

Methods

Results

Conclusion